Lily and the Marauders
by cleansweep97
Summary: For those of you who have always wanted a story that kept as close to canon as possible, included the banter and budding romance of Lily and James, numerous famous marauders pranks and the upcoming war against Purebloods and Muggleborns. For those of you who wanted to see how Lily and James traversed from enemies to husband and wife.
1. Head Girl Meets Head Boy

Hey Guys – I've decided to put my last story on hold and take another stab at the Lily and James story. I've always wanted to create a story that contained the true story of L&J whilst including the numerous pranks of the marauders and the story plot outside of Hogwarts. So here it is… hope you like it

Disclaimer: This belongs to JK Rowling

When Lily pushed open the door to her usual compartment the scarlet seats were empty – except for one boy with sandy blonde hair. Remus Lupin glanced up from his tattered book, startled, but grinning as he saw her.

"Hey Remus," Lily said, using her wand to heft her trunk into the overhead lockers.

"Hey Lily," Remus replied evenly. "Good summer?" He dog-eared the page in his book – something that made Lily frown – before closing it and placing it down on the seat beside him.

"Mmfphht," Lily groaned, shrugging her shoulders. She threw herself onto the seat beside him. Remus cocked an eyebrow but Lily really wasn't in the mood to explain the nightmare that was her sister and her new fiancé. "Not to be rude but why are you here and not in your usually compartment?"

Remus looked unfazed. "Sirius and James are having an argument," he said in way of explanation.

Now it was Lily's turn to look interested.

"You'll see what its about in say…" Remus quickly glanced at his watch. "Another ten minutes."

"Have the girls been through?" Lily asked. Usually Lily was the late one – late to the station because her family was always in some rush, late to get onto the train because her mum got teary eyes, late to find their compartment because she was Lily and at least three Hufflepuff boys and two Gryffindor girls were trying to duel in the corridor which she wasn't going to simply walk past. _Potter probably would've given them some tips,_ Lily thought.

"I saw Marlene," Remus said. "She's in our compartment laughing her head off."

That sounded like her.

"And Alice… ahh there she is," Remus continued, his eyes on the door.

Lily spun around excitedly to face a beaming Alice. Alice wasted so seconds to quickly bundle her up in a hug, before dumping her trunk with Lily's and herself opposite Remus.

"Congratulations by the way," Alice said cheerily, pointing at Lily's Head Girl badge. "Although I can't say I was surprised. Me and Marly have had a beat going since third year – which speaking of beats Remus you owe me three sickles."

Remus frowned lazily. "What for now?"

Remus was the only marauder Lily, Marlene and Alice were brave enough to place a beat against. Potter and Black were too arrogant about the whole thing, whereas Peter had this annoying habit of always winning that all three girls had given up on him a while back.

"On Head Boy," Alice said chirpily. "I called it, you didn't – that's three sickles please."

Remus laughed, handing over the money from his pocket. Lily, on the other hand, instantly turned curious. She'd been fretting over who would be given Head Boy the moment she received her letter. In her head she had compiled the list of sixth year male prefects and when faced with it only Remus sounded appealing. He was also the most obvious choice in Lily's mind but now – thinking about – she couldn't remember a time when Dumbledore selected both Head students from the same house.

Harvey Griffin – the Ravenclaw prefect – would be her next choice. If Dumbledore had selected Snape as Head Boy Lily thought she might actually have a fit. _Oh god_ – noticing the evil glint in Alice's eyes Lily could feel dread rising in her stomach.

"Merlin it's Snape isn't it," Lily blurted, feeling horrified.

Both Alice and Remus broke into fits of laughter.

"Is that a no?" Lily said worriedly. "That better mean no. I really don't think I could handle that – I really couldn't think of any one worse. I reckon I'd even prefer Potter – no offence Remus."

Remus waved her away, trying to keep a straight face. "How about we go find out," he said, offering her a hand. "Your Headship." He added as an afterthought.

"You're actually enjoying this," Lily said, wincing. "Just a little?"

"Sixty eight percent," Remus replied swiftly. "The rest is yet to happen."

Groaning, Lily waved goodbye to Alice before heading to the Prefects compartment with Remus.

"If it's not you or Snape it's either Harvey or Billy," Lily said, speaking through her train of thought. "My guess is Harvey – Billy's a bit of a joker really. He doesn't take his role very seriously, does he?"

Remus couldn't reply. He was too busy stifling a laugh by trying to turn it into a series of coughs. Lily patted his back only half-heartedly, still worried that Dumbledore might've thought it a good old laugh if he partnered her up with Snape. _See Gryffindor's and Slytherins can work well together_ – she could practically hear him telling the entire school. Maybe he missed their showdown in fifth year.

"Okay," Lily said, calming herself as they reached the door. She twisted the handle and stepped inside, briefly scanning the room.

Most of the prefects were already there – including Snape, Harvey and Billy. She noticed that all three of them were sitting amongst the other prefects and none had a Head Boy badge pinned to their cloak. Frantically grabbing onto what she thought was Remus cloak sleeve and swinging both of them back outside to give him a proper grueling on what time was suitable for a prank and what time wasn't she yelped in shock when Potter's startled wide eyes stared back down at her.

"I must say I'm just as surprised as you Evans," Potter said, grinning with his stupid, cocky grin. "But no time like the present, huh?"

Lily thumped him hard across the chest. "What are you doing here Potter and where did Remus go," she cried.

Potter shrugged. "Inside I'd guess," he said. "Now if you don't mind I think I'm late as it is."

Confused, Lily followed Potter inside wondering if the boy had perhaps gone a little mental over the summer and thought the prefects compartment was his compartment. When he settled himself comfortably into a chair Lily grew angry.

"Whatever prank your playing on us I suggest you don't," Lily snapped, pointing her wand at the door. "Here's the exit."

"No fair," Potter complained. "I just got comfortable. Besides I thought we had to give these guys prefect advice and device a patrol's roster or something."

Lily laughed, before realizing that he was actually being serious. She stopped abruptly, eyeing the badge pinned to his robes. "If you think I'm going to believe your Head Boy your gravely mistaken. Now whoever's badge you've taken can you please give it back and get out of here."

James stroked his chin. "Wow this is next level arguing," he said. "Did you actually just say please? To me?"

A small cough broke them apart. Growling, Lily turned onto Remus. "Yes," she said, her anger running thin.

"He'd not joking," Remus said in his calmest, quietest voice.

Lily quickly looked around the room at all of the prefects – new and old. Everyone was here and no one was laughing. In fact, a few of them looked annoyed at her for wasting their time. Nervously, Lily cleared her throat.

"Ah okay – well sorry about that. I'm Lily Evans for those who don't know," she started. For some reason she felt like storming from the room. Here was the one thing she'd been working for since fourth year and Potter was just handed it – probably on a golden platter served by one of his house elves. Now he'd caused her to create a fool of herself in front of everyone.

Part of Lily had forgotten that she'd stopped talking. Snape was staring at her with two different expressions on his face; none that made Lily feel any better.

"Anyway – that is James Potter," she continued, pointing at the messy haired boy behind her. "If you're having trouble with _getting_ detentions I suggest you go ask him about it." That earned her a few chuckles at least. Maybe she would be fine. After all, most of the prefects – except for the greasy Slytherins – were actually appointed because of their leadership qualities and willingness to do the right thing. Unlike the toe rag behind her.

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Lily stormed out of the meeting only half certain on how it'd turned out. Potter had barely said a word, but then again she'd barely left him space to breathe. Hopefully it would stay that way. Behind her, Remus and Potter walked in a more sensible fashion back towards their compartment. She tried tuning into their conversation, a small part of her curious to hear what Potter had to say about the meeting.

"Did you find anything interesting," she heard Remus asking. From the tone of his voice, Lily deducted that Potter had been snooping – she wasn't really surprised.

Potter made a disgruntled sound. "It doesn't look too good. And Dad's barely at home these days even though they've taken him out of the field."

Lily frowned at that. _What were they talking about?_ Potter sounded serious which wasn't really that uncommon when Lily thought about it. He talked about Quidditch seriously. And he was always reading the Daily Prophet. But this didn't sound like either of those topics.

"Yeah Mum's being called out more too," Remus said. "More families wanting stronger protection I suppose."

Since most of her concentration was being used to listen intently to their conversation, Lily didn't even notice that she'd walked straight past her compartment and was only two doors away from the Marauder's compartment. Then Remus and Potter stopped talking.

"Hey Evans," she heard Potter call.

It was at that second she realized her mistake. Pulling on a straight face, Lily turned around. "Yes Head Boy," she replied which caused Remus to laugh.

Potter shot him a pointed look. "I think all that eavesdropping knocked a few senses from your head," he told her. "Including your sense of direction and memory."

Lily grinned politely. She wasn't going to let him bother her – not this year. "Thanks Potter but –

Her words were cut off by a squeal and the bang on doors. "Lils!" Marlene shouted, throwing herself onto the red head. She then started ruffling Lily's hair. "Good job of Head Girl. Sucks that my idiot of a cousin is Head Boy but you're more than up to dealing with him and two roles." Lily knew Marlene was joking – since she maturely stuck her tongue out at Potter – but also because Marlene was always pestering Lily on the detailed and minute reasons on why she couldn't just be friends with him.

"Nice to see you to Marls," Potter said, patting Marlene on the head before wandering inside.

Marlene dragged Lily in behind him, cheerfully babbling about her holiday in Croatia and boasting about her new tan. Marlene was the kind of girl who instantly grew one shade darker on the skin and one shade lighter in the hair as soon as she touched sun. Whereas Lily just burnt and peeled.

Inside the compartment Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew were in the middle of a game of exploding snap. From the looks of things Black was definitely winning and Peter had lost one or two chunks of mousy hair. Alice was sitting cross-legged next to Peter holding a sowing pin and an embroidery circle. A coil of navy blue thread was being held between her teeth. Potter had thrown himself down on top of Sirius who laughed, before knocking the boy to the floor. Then there was Remus who decided it was safest to sit next to Alice.

Still grinning, Marlene pulled her down onto the empty space between Potter and the door.

"Since when have we hosted girls in our man compartment," Black asked, slamming a card down before Peter.

"Since you started dating one," Marlene replied, blowing him a kiss.

Black pretended to look disgusted but was smiling regardless. "Still if we start a sowing club I'm out."

Alice didn't miss a beat. "So embroidery is fine with you?" She asked, mock sweetness, holding up her piece.

Black and Peter both mimed gagging and fake death on the compartment floor – Sirius adding a couple of dramatic breathes in at the end.

"Enjoyable," Marlene commented.

"I personally think our new Head Boy and Girl are enjoyable," Peter said, stilling lying closed eyed on the floor.

"Mmm I do quite like my partner," Potter commented, winking at Lily who scowled back. "But it's the title that has to do. Clashes with my reputation."

"How about Big Head?" Remus suggested which caused Alice to snort quite un-lady like.

"Or Captain Magnificent?" Black put in.

"How about Head nothing and giving your badge to someone else if your not going to take it seriously?" Lily countered, glaring at Potter.

"Way to ruin the mood Evans," Sirius said to her.

Potter, on the other hand, merely shrugged. "Can I actually do that?" He asked her.

She wasn't sure if he was joking or not this time.

"Naww," Black said, scuffing his hair. "But haven't you been dreaming of sharing a Head's tower with Evans since first year?"

"Even if I have better not mention them," Potter replied swiftly. "Nice to keep the conversation G rated." Then, of course, he had the nerve to turn and wink at her.

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"He's only joking around," Marlene told Lily as they made their way towards the Great Hall. Lily was fuming though, and most of Marlene's words were going straight over her head. "That's what they do. If you weren't so stubborn you might've even think some of its funny."

That caught her attention. "I'm not stubborn," Lily hissed furiously. "He's arrogant and stuck up and always up to no good. Who does he think he is just sauntering around the school as if he owns the place?"

Marlene signed. There was truth to Lily's words, she couldn't deny that, but she also knew that Lily hadn't properly gotten over the events of fifth year. Sometimes Marlene thought that Lily aimed all her anger at Snape unfairly towards James.

"He also needs to grow up another ten years," Lily added, when Marlene didn't reply.

Marlene laughed at that. "Can you imagine a twenty seven year old James," she said, trying to defuse Lily's anger before they entered the Great Hall.

"No," Lily said stubbornly before storming inside.

She quickly found a seat next to Alice. Further down she watched as Potter and Black clambered into their seats, wondering if maybe Marlene was right about them but then she saw Potter aim a charmed goblet against the back of Snape's head and went right back to being angry with him.

 _This was definitely going to be a long year._


	2. An Awkward Encounter

"Balderdash," James said to a portrait of a young girl with a huge pearl earring.

The portrait turned her stern gaze towards him, clearly affronted, before saying – "excuse me but you're balderdash."

Beside him, James growled as he listened to Evans laughing.

"Mature," he hissed to her, before glaring at the portrait. "That's the password."

James grinned as the girl blushed. "Right," she said, flustered. "Here you go – enjoy." He waited till she swung open before waving Evans inside, ignoring her look of shock.

Inside, the Head's common room was the exact same set up as the Gryffindor common room only smaller and with a small kitchenette on the sidewall. Two stone staircases lead to a narrow landing with two wooden doors on either end and one in the middle. James pushed the middle one open and almost laughed at the sight.

"Shared bathroom," he said, relishing in the look of horror on Evans face. "Mmm no lock either. Pity."

"Yeah you sound it," Evans snapped. She quickly pulled her wand from her pocket, pointing it at the door and performing some spell non-verbally. "Try messing with it and I'll know."

She turned to leave, but for some reason James felt the need to call her back. Lily didn't turn around but she stopped. It wasn't much but it certainly was a start. At the end of sixth year Remus had given him a pep talk on all the things Evans hated about him and all the things he probably shouldn't do in her presence – such as asking her out every second and hexing boys that tried talking to her. He then suggested that maybe James should take a stab at the whole friends thing – actually get to know her properly, not just asking her out because she was pretty.

Now that he had her attention he didn't know what to say. Should he apologize? He didn't think she'd buy that though. If she'd only turn around he might calm down a little – didn't he deserve that? Okay probably not, but still. He hadn't tried anything stupid yet. _She's probably waiting for it,_ he thought. Then mentally slapped himself. _Oh Merlin. He must look like a fool right now, not that she was even looking at him but still…_

Evans spun around, hands on hips. "Want me to spell it out for you since you're now to lazy to even speak?" She said, her voice clear and sharp. "If you're going to ask me out: no thanks. If you're asking for my permission to hex Snape into next month: don't bother because I've already made plans to do that. If you want to copy my homework for the rest of the year you're dreaming. And if you want me to wheedle your way out of detention again I won't because I really don't know what was going through my mind. Is that all?"

James wasn't sure if laughing would help right now, except to make her more angry which he certainly didn't need. If he pointed out that she was wrong she'd probably laugh in his face then storm off. Sometimes he forgot why he even bothered; she obviously didn't think him worth her time.

Evans then did something he wasn't expecting. She frowned and took a step closer. Her hands loosened a little and her face lost some of its angry red colour. Something was going on behind her head and he really couldn't figure it out but whatever this was he was definitely walking on eggshells.

"Want some help with Snape?" He asked, knowing instantly that it was the wrong thing to say.

Her face moulded back into a scowl. "I'm perfectly capable," she said.

James shifted on his feet. "Yeah I know," he rushed. "You've said that a few times actually." Once again he knew those were the wrong words.

"Then are you just forgetful?" She snapped.

"Padfoot did once use a memory charm on me once," he said. Jokes were good. He couldn't somehow offend her if he kept the conversation about him – unless she starting thinking he was self-centered. Right now he really wasn't sure.

To his surprise Evans laughed – a sound that made James want to laugh back. It was light and soft and cheerful. But then she caught herself and tried to pull a straight face. Deciding it was okay to continue James launched into his story.

"It was third year I think," he started. "He and Moony had been having a wrestling match on my bed and he broke this vase my Aunt sent me for Christmas. Horrible thing really. But I guess he thought I'd been mad and decided to try modifying my memory so I wouldn't remember that I even owned it. He ended up wiping all my memories of my cat. You can't believe how shocked I was to return home I find out that we owned a cat, and had owned one since I was four."

Evans looked torn between three emotions. "I can't figure out if that's funny or stupid or just plain mean."

James laughed. "Funny," he told her. "Definitely funny."

Evans cocked an eyebrow. "Sure Potter," she said, looking at him funny. "Night."

"Night Evans," James replied.

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"This might be the first actual breakfast where Prongs isn't staring at Evans like a love sick puppy," Sirius said, stabbing a whole sausage and attempting to stick the whole thing in his throat.

"I can't believe I'm letting you date my cousin," James groaned as he watched Sirius choke on the sausage.

Before Sirius had time to defend himself Peter spoke up. "I can't believe Marlene actually said yes to going on a date with him."

"Now that's a valid point," Sirius interstated to Peter. "You on the other hand," he added, turning to James. "Are a complete arse."

"Noted," James said grinning. "And I don't stare like a puppy."

"You used to," Sirius said, now layering six fried eggs atop of a piece of toast. "Looked something like this." He turned to James – wide eyed with his tongue hanging out.

James made a lunge, trying to grab a hold of Sirius tongue but missing. "You've mistaken that for yourself _Padfoot._ "

"You know," Remus interrupted both of them, his eyes on Sirius' plate as the boy started adding pieces of bacon to his pile. "Six eggs is actually beyond bad for you. Unless you like diabetes."

"Diabetes?" Sirius repeated. He picked up his toast, the eggs and bacon wobbling slightly, before trying to take a huge chunk. Now with food in his mouth he added, "Would that taste good with this?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "I thought you were taking Muggle Studies," he said.

"This is Padfoot you're talking about," Peter pointed out.

"I listen," Sirius whined.

James yelped in shock, knocking over Peter's glass of milk as he pulled the Daily Prophet out from under Remus' pile of books. All three Marauders turned to him with equal looks of confusion on their faces.

"This is exactly what I was talking about," James said in a near shout. For a brief second he saw Evans staring at him from down the table but then Peter yanked the paper from his grip and all thoughts of the colour of her eyes in the sunlight vanished.

"Another unidentified attack points to You-Know-Who," Peter read out loud. "What do you mean you were talking about this?"

"I was telling Moony about these attacks on the train," James explained. "Padfoot and I snuck into Dad's office but other than all his news paper clippings it's all really the same. Attack after attack after attack."

"It sounds like they don't know exactly who's attacking us," Remus pointed out.

"This is in the Ministry we're talking about," James said as if that explained everything. "I mean, obviously the Death Eaters aren't going around destroying places then leaving a huge poster with their names on it but who else could it be? Dad reckons the Minister is trying to make it look like the attacks aren't being organized by one single group, rather single attacks."

"Why would that help?" Peter asked curiously.

"It sounds worse, don't you think," Remus started. "It's like the Ministry is trying to ignore the fact that there's a war brewing."

"You can't believe the press anyway," James continued. "They'll say anything to make it look as if everything's fine and under control. These attacks and killings are being grossly underestimated. Sometimes they don't even bother reported them if its small enough."

Remus looked disgusted at that, his face shifting into a grimace. "This is balderdash."

James couldn't help but laugh earning him two reproachful glares and one look of outright horror from Remus. "Sorry," he explained. "It's our password."

"Oh yeah," Sirius said, grinning. The moment was obviously forgotten. "So how's sharing a room with Evans?"

James shrugged. "I tried what you said Moony," he said.

"You did?" Remus couldn't hide the surprise that filled his words. "Did it work?"

James either missed it or chose to ignore it. "I really don't know," he replied truthfully. In all honesty last night had been weird. Evans had given him the time of her mind even though he probably didn't deserve it.

The three marauders stared at him, as if waiting for him to continue but when he didn't they just frowned and turned back to their breakfast. James was in for a strange year.


	3. Transfiguration Confusion

Lily threw her Transfiguration textbook down on the table between Alice and Marlene before letting out a disgruntled growl. Alice shot backwards, her quill and inkpot scattering to the floor.

"Give us some warning," Alice yelped.

Lily pointed her wand to clean the ink stain. She really wasn't in a good mood right now and that could all be explained using three words – Transfiguration, Potter and patrols. Although, to be fair Potter was only included in the list because he now held a permanent spot there. _Maybe he should be moved to the front?_ Lily thought. _Or should she have a permanent and fluctuating list?_

"What's wrong?" Marlene asked, lifting Lily's textbook off from her Potions essay. Thankfully the thing wasn't crumpled too much.

Looking sorry, Lily pointed her wand at the parchment and the thing was perfectly straight again. Marlene nodded before waving her on. "I don't understand the theory of Animagus transformations and I have patrols with Potter in ten minutes," Lily said. Now her list could be compiled into a single sentence.

"I actually know a solution to all _three_ problems," Marlene said.

Lily turned slowly to face her friend. There was something in Marlene's voice that Lily recognized instantly. Noticing the sly grin that was now spreading across her cheeks Lily shook her head. "Oh no," she said. "Two problems," she reiterated. "Only two problems."

"Hear me out," Marlene said, laughing.

"I suggest you just listen," Alice warned as Lily started to walk backwards towards her room. "Unless you'd prefer your hair green again."

Lily shook her head again, feeling slightly like a crazy person. "Nahh uh this is my common room and…" catching the look on Marlene's face she stopped. "Fine, spill your advice. But I'm not taking it."

"Okay here it is," Marlene started. "You become friends with James."

Lily blinked. "You just solved an imaginary problem," she said. "That problem didn't even exist. That's not helping."

Marlene held up a finger. "James is ace at Transfiguration. You finish essays faster. You patrol corridors with a friend. You actually have a good time."

"Thanks but if Dumbledore hadn't lost his marbles I'd be patrolling with Remus and he's actually already a friend unlike that Potter prat," Lily said, half wondering as she spoke why her friends were shaking their heads and looking over her shoulder as if someone had just walked in on them. _Oh Merlin._ "But I do enjoy patrolling with Potter." She added lamely.

"Thanks for the sentiment Evans," Potter said.

Lily turned around slowly, trying to figure out his tone. When she saw his blank face she shrunk back against Marlene. Maybe she had gone a little overboard – Potter had shown he could be a good leader and team member when he was made Quidditch Captain in sixth year – okay so she'd gone overboard but Marlene wouldn't stop pestering her about being nice to him. It was okay for her to say – they were cousins. They had to get along.

Fine, that was a lie too. Risking another glance at his face, Lily froze. He wasn't angry or annoyed or even pissed at her – he just looked hurt. Lily instantly regretted her words, swallowing a deep breath before taking a tentative step forward. _Blasted,_ she thought angrily, _if this was fifth year she wouldn't have even cared._ Why had it suddenly changed? Usually there fights started the same way this one should've but with Potter shouting something back. Somehow him just standing there was worse.

"Umm you ready?" She asked, sounding small.

 _You got yourself into this one Evans,_ Lily told herself forcefully. _You get yourself out of it._

James could've pointed out that he was the one collecting her but for some reason he didn't and Lily found herself relaxing a little. But then he spoke and she folded back into herself all over again.

"Sure," he said icily. "Lead the way _Evans._ "

Lily nodded, trying to ignore the venom he placed on her name or the varnished way he waved her forward. Outside, the corridor felt too wide and dark. Potter kept an unusually distanced gap between the two of them as they started walking towards the Astronomy Tower. And he didn't bother trying to start a conversation.

What could she even say to him? Marlene was right – this hatred wasn't constructive if they were planning on working together all year. Lily sneaked a quick glance over at him from the corner of her eyes. He walked causally but his fingers were in fists as if he was trying to hold something back. A piece of scrap parchment stuck out from his jeans pockets – tattered and blank by the look of it. His glasses were falling down the bridge of his nose and his lips were pinched tightly together. Lily could clearly understand why most of the girls – okay all of the girls – swooned over him but Lily could never find herself to be that shallow. Sure he was good looking but to her that had never mattered. She needed to know the inside pieces and with Potter she only had the flaws.

 _He's friends with Remus,_ she told herself. _And Marly and Alice seem to like him_. Lily mentally growled, racking her brains for something to say. This was Potter's job – charming the words out of every girl he talked to, joking, teasing and Lily sucked at it. _Pick a safe topic._ That's when an idea sprung onto her.

"So," she started, looking at Potter. "Umm Quidditch season. Any spots open on the team?"

Potter's expression didn't change. "Thinking of trying out Evans," he asked in the same icy tone. "I don't think the broom will be able to handle your big head."

Anger bubbled instantly in Lily's chest. She tried telling herself that Potter's words only held that much venom because of her – she'd started all of this. But her ignoring Potter's jabs wasn't something that happened often – alright _ever_. The word's exploded from her before she even had a chance at holding them back. "If I did would you have a problem with that?" She snaps, glaring at him angrily. "You can't stop me from trying out."

James cocked an eyebrow. "Didn't think you had it in you Evans." Lily caught the challenge in his tone immediately. Part of her knew he was just trying to tease her into making a decision she would regret later, but the other part of her fell for it.

"Who are you to make those kind of assumptions," she told him. "You haven't even seen me fly before."

She swore she spied a smile twitch on the edges of his mouth, but it was gone before she had another chance to figure out what it might've meant. "And what spot will you be flying for?" He asked. The icy tone was gone but he still wasn't bothering to look over at her.

 _Okay,_ Lily thought slowly. _She could figure this one out._ Most sports had a goal post. In soccer they called that player a goalie but she had a feeling they used a different word in Quidditch. Maybe she could trick him into telling her some of the position names. "Well what spots are open?" She asked, trying to adopt a haunty voice.

"Two chasers," Potter replied swiftly.

Lily nodded as if that actually meant anything to her. She vaguely remembered Marlene telling her that chaser passed the main ball around to score goals. _That didn't sound too hard._ "Well I'll be trying out as a chaser then," she told Potter.

"Trials are on Saturday Evans," Potter told her.

Lily nodded, swallowing the clump in her throat. _She was so going to regret this later._ Maybe Marlene could help her since she was on the team – a beater or something. She was so busy worrying about making a fool of herself that she barely registered the fact that Potter had drawn his wand from his belt.

"Lumos," he muttered, slowing his steps.

Startled, Lily quickly copied him. With her added wand, light washed down the corridor and fell onto two students pressed up against the wall. She could practically hear Potter rolling his eyes. _Of course the prat would find breaking rules funny._ She thought angrily. Lily inched closer – she wasn't sure if it was the sudden light or the sound of metal clashing as she accidently steps too close to a coat of armor, but the couple sprung apart instantly – their eyes wide and unblinking. Lily recognized the girl as a sixth year Ravenclaw – Josie Parker – since they used to do patrols when Remus fell _sick_. The boy, on the other hand, only looked vaguely familiar.

Potter stepped forward. "First night of the year and we already have prefects breaking the rules, huh Josie?" He said. Lily wanted to say that his tone was mocking or teasing, but he simply sounded serious. "And you Benjy – don't be getting too many detentions, we have trials coming up soon."

"Sorry Captain," the boy named Benjy said. "Won't happen again."

"Make sure of it," Potter told him. "Ten points from both of you will be warning enough."

Hearing those words, Lily stepped forward. "That's a bit much, don't you think?" She asked Potter. "Usually it's only five points each for being out after curfew."

Potter frowned, his expression turning into one of anger. _Now what had she done?_ Lily thought. "Five points is it?" He asked – his voice was level, blank – nothing like the growing resentment spreading across his face.

Lily nodded cautiously.

"You heard her," Potter told Josie and Benjy. "Five points each then. Clear off."

Both sixth years scuttled away from each other and back to their respective towers, Benjy throwing Potter a mischievous smile over his shoulder. Lily braced herself, waiting for the usual argument to blow up – Lily could recognize that look anywhere – but to her own surprise Potter simply continued back down the corridor, tucking his wand back into his waist band. She watched him walk around a corner before realizing that she was supposed to be following him.

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Lily hurriedly buttered a piece of toast, holding it in her mouth as she pulled two textbooks from her satchel. One she propped up in front of her plate, the second she opened on her right side. Then she pulled a quill and parchment from her bag. Lily knew that opposite her Marlene was rolling her eyes, and Alice was most likely stifling a laugh and that most of the school thought of her as overly studious – _why else would someone do homework at breakfast –_ but Lily never really cared what people thought of her.

She'd rather hand in her essay on time and avoid getting into trouble than maintaining this air of sophistication at the breakfast table. That was Potter's job. Besides, Lily had always enjoyed finishing off her work whilst surrounded by people and now she no longer had that. That was the one main thing she missed about having her own common room and bedroom – she missed the bustle and activities of the Gryffindor's.

So, ignoring Marlene's attempts to knock over her balanced textbook by throwing grapes at the back cover, Lily vigorously threw herself into understanding the theory of Animagus Transformations. McGonagall had hinted that Animagus transformations were a commonly used question by examiners to distinguish O students from EE students.

Looking down at her pathetic excuse of an essay Lily growled. They were supposed to fill 40 inches on the subject and Lily barely had twenty. Sure the basics were easy enough to wrap her head around it, it was the tiny details that derailed Lily to no extent.

"You could always ask Potter," Marlene hinted, peering over the top of Lily's textbook.

Lily threw her quill at Marlene's head, causing the blonde to duck and nearly topple to the ground. Startled by the noise, Lily grabbed her textbook and dumped it atop of her essay. But on seeing Marlene laughing her head off, Lily rolled her eyes.

"Sorry," she muttered, now searching for a new quill.

"Sound it too," Marlene teased.

"Potter's the last thing I need right now," Lily continued, not caring how harsh she was sounding. Not after he'd blown up at her last night when they returned to their dormitories. Sure, she might've used to take ten points off him last year when she caught him out after curfew, but he was always up to worse things than snogging. Him and Black.

"No surprise there," Alice interjected, causing Marlene to laugh harder and Lily to scowl deeper.

"Oh don't act so shocked," Marlene said to Lily. "If you hadn't of said that I'd been worried."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I actually need you," she said. "Kinda desperately too."

Marlene blinked at that, then, noticing the expression on her friends face her eyes narrowed. "What have you gotten yourself into now?" She asked, only too used to Lily making stupid challenges with Potter to prove something.

"Well I'm kinda trying out for the Quidditch team," Lily said, unable to hide her grin. "As a chaser."

There was a short moments pause where both girls were staring at Lily as if trying to figure out if she was joking or not. When Lily didn't add anything else, they both broke into peals of uncontrollable laughter, Marlene clutching onto her ribs so hard Lily thought she might break them.

"I'm not sure whether the best part is the fact that you can't fly or the part were you aren't joking," Marlene said between gasping breaths.

"Ha, ha, ha," Lily said in mock annoyance. "Laugh it up."

"Definitely the not joking part," Alice said, an ear-to-ear grin spread across her face.

"You do realise its Thursday today?" Marlene said.

"I was aware of that," Lily told her. "Thanks."

"And trials are this Saturday?" Marlene continued.

Lily sent her a pointed look.

"And you can't just not show up because?" Alice asked, now looking sincere.

"Because it's Potter, right?" Marlene answered for her.

Lily nodded, looking glum.

"Right, well I have third period free," she told Lily. "We'll practice then."

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"Your essay's please," McGonagall said, waving her wand.

Lily watched dolefully as her essay wriggled its way out from where she'd jammed it between the pages of a textbook, and as it joined her classmates essay's in the air. From the back of the room she could hear someone laughing – _no doubt it was either Potter or Black._

After McGonagall piled their essays on top of her desk, she directed her wand to the blackboard behind her. White chalk words began to write themselves across the board – instructions by the looks of things. That meant another dreary theory lesson. Settling herself properly into her chair Lily waited for their professor to finish, tuning out the whispering of Black in the corner and the scratching of a quill by Remus on her right. _Surely he wasn't copying down notes already?_ Lily thought in surprise. But as she watched him roll the note into a small ball and charm it to land on Potter's desk, Lily's mood shifted from surprise to irritation.

Irritation that was aimed squarely at Potter. At the beginning of fifth year, McGonagall had separated each Marauder to a different corner of her classroom in an attempt to stop any forms of misbehaving or pranks. Remus and Potter the front two, Black and Pettigrew the back corners. _Not that that ever stopped them,_ she thought to herself as she watched Potter flatten Remus' note onto his desk.

"Wands out please," McGonagall instructed them.

She waited patiently for everyone to draw their wands for different places – Lily from the pocket of her robes – before continuing. A few of girls sniggered as Potter pulled his out from behind his ear. _Stupid place for a wand really,_ Lily thought.

"This exercise is merely for my own amusement," their Professor started. Lily groaned. "I will use it to gauge where everyone is up to and how to structure my class from here on. However, in saying that human transfiguration – which I will be teaching you today – is commonly tested on NEWT exams as a indicator of the difference between what defines an Outstanding student and what entails an Exceeds Expectations student."

McGonagall's lecture was followed by another bout of laughter by Black. Marlene, who was sitting next to Lily, was torn between grinning and frowning at her boyfriend. Lily swiveled in her chair to glare at Black but stopped when she caught Potter's expression. He wasn't looking at her exactly but somewhere over her shoulder – _most likely at Black_ – with a look on his face that Lily could only describe as sheer arrogance. _How could he just sit there and act so cocky about something they hadn't even learnt yet?_ She thought furiously.

Suddenly he caught her staring and the look fell instantly from his face, only to be replaced by a scowl. Lily could only imagine the look on her own face – something between a grimace and a glower. She tried to scrub the expression clean, maybe offer a smile, but he wasn't looking at her anymore.

"You know," Marlene whispered to her. "I think you're right?"

"Huh?" Lily muttered back, keeping her eyes on McGonagall as the professor started correcting Janet Holeman's wand grip.

"About this," Marlene told her. "You're right. It makes absolutely no sense."

Lily didn't trust the tone of her friend's voice. "If you're going to do something stupid like call Potter over for help – don't."

As if the professor was suddenly out to get her she turned to the class and said, "since this task works easier in groups I'd like everyone to please form small groups and have one person perform the spell at a time to minimize the risk of accidents." McGonagall began to turn back to her desk before stopping. "I said small groups Kenting – if I wanted all the Ravenclaw's in a group I would've asked."

Marlene sent Lily a cheeky grin before waving both Potter and Black over. Lily sent her friend what she hoped was a convincing death stare as she watched Black drag his chair overtly loudly across the classroom to only prop it down against Marlene's.

"Hey Marls," he said grinning. "Evans too."

Marlene sent Black a sloppy kind of look that made Lily cringe. Suddenly she felt the shadow of someone fall behind her. Twisting in her seat she found herself looking up into the face of Potter. His glasses were hanging so low off the bridge of his nose she was scared they'd fall and land on her face. She was then struck with the weird urge to tell him so.

"I think your glasses are about to fall off," she said, cocking her head as if glancing at him sideways would help. Noticing the confusion on his face, she hastily added, "Potter," before sitting upwards and refocusing her attention to the task at hand.

Furiously ignoring Marlene's gleeful grin, Lily read the first line of instructions on the board. _Oh Merlin, this sounded hard._

Black scoffed. "I thought this was meant to challenge us," he said.

Marlene whacked him over the head with her wand.

"Owww," he complained, rubbing his skull. "What was that for?"

"This," Marlene punctuated. "Is not easy."

Black sent Potter a desperate, help-me-out kind of look. But instead of countering Marlene, Potter simply shrugged.

"Fine then," Lily said, ignoring this new, silent Potter and tuning her frustration onto Black. "Show us. C'mon, show us exactly how easy this is."

"Feisty," Black said, winking at her.

Marlene whacked him again.

"Fine, fine," he said, now rubbing his arm. "What would you like?"

Marlene raised an eyebrow. She pinched a lock of his messy black hair between too fingers and pretended to study it curiously. "I think you'd suit a nice shade of yellow."

For a second, Black looked momentarily pained at the prospect of turning his hair yellow that Lily actually found herself grinning a little.

"Don't worry too much Black," she told him. "I'm sure McGonagall can change it back if it all goes wrong."

Black laughed. "What would you say to some purple streaks?"

"I'd say your getting to cocky for my liking," Marlene responded. "But I would also like to see that too."

Lily leaned back into her seat, crossing her arms. From the corner of her eye she could see Potter staring at her. Usually that would annoy Lily to no ends, but now for some reason she found herself going red. Self consciously, she tried flattening out her skirt; thanking Merlin that Marlene's attention was preoccupied with watching Black. Why was this bothering her so much now? Couldn't he just say something? Silence really wasn't their thing.

Hang on. Since when did they have a thing? Shaking her head, she tried to put her whole focus onto Black but parts of her mind kept slipping back too Potter.

Black pointed his wand at his hand, muttering the spell quietly under his breath. Slowly, starting from the roots, purple and yellow streaks rippled out from his scalp down to the very tops of his hair.

Grinning, he winked at Marlene. "How do I look?"

"Hideous," Marlene replied instantly.

Black faked mock hurt, clutching at his chest and pretending to topple off of his chair. _Really?_ Lily thought. But then she caught herself smiling, laughing even.

"Excellent Mr. Black," McGonagall said from the front of her room. "Even if the theatrics were overdone. Five points to Gryffindor."

"What did I say about easy?" Black said, now performing a fake bow at Marlene's feet.

Lily just managed to stifle a laugh against the back of her hand. Then she caught Potter staring again and all humor vanished instantly at the intensity of his eyes. _Was he trying to stare a hole right through her?_ She thought. His expression looked inquisitive, measured almost.

Only distantly she could hear Black telling Marlene that he might keep his hair how it was.

"Okay," Marlene responded. "But enjoy being single."

Black pretended to flick his hair over his shoulders, battering his eyelids at a mock stern faced Marlene.

Lily turned away from Potter, more confused than ever. "That," she said, pointing a finger at Black. "Is the weirdest thing I've seen all day."

Behind her, she could hear Potter laughing.

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It was lunchtime. Lily was sitting in the Prefects room surrounded by every single Hogwarts prefect. And they were all watching her. _Where in the world was Potter?_ She thought angrily. She glanced up at the clock on the wall.

"Are you going to start?" fifth year Hufflepuff Connor Daly asked. "It's just I have to go somewhere after lunch ends."

One of the older boys wolf whistled. It was followed by a bout of laughter then another round of silence. Lily was already starting to hate these meetings and it only their second.

"Not everyone's here yet," Lily said after a moment.

"Potter and Lupin you mean – what else is new," Narcissa Black sneered.

Lily blinked when she realized she was right. It wasn't just Potter who was missing. Remus wasn't usually late to prefect meetings.

"I'm sure they're on their way," Lily said, sending a forced smile to the Slytherin.

Just after the last word had left her mouth the door banged open revealing a disheveled Potter and a worried looking Remus.

"I told you we were late," Remus told Potter.

Potter, being Potter, shrugged with an air of nonchalance. "It would suck to miss this," he muttered, taking his seat beside Lily.

"Pleasure as always," Lily said furiously. "Just get comfortable while you're at it."

Potter glared back at her. "Oh I plan on it."

Lily was about to snap back when she remembered that they were in a room full of waiting people. _Now wasn't the time for this._ She told herself. Taking a deep breath, she passed the pile of parchment before her to Remus.

"These are your patrol duties," Lily told them. She'd spent a good half of her free period this morning drawing them up – no surprise that she couldn't find Potter. "If you can't make any of these dates I need a proper excuse at a bit of warning. Any questions?"

A seventh year Ravenclaw – Harriet Jeffery – tentatively put her hand up. "I heard from Flitwick that Hogwarts was hosting some kind of ball this year."

At that most of the boys in the room groaned – including Potter. Lily scowled at him before answering. "Oh yeah. We're holding a masked ball just before term ends. Any ideas are encouraged before then," she told the room.

More groaning from the boys followed. "Is that all?" one of them asked.

Nodding, the room quickly filed clean leaving Lily alone with Potter. The boy was still sprawled comfortably in his seat, flicking his wand high into the air before catching it with the opposite hand.

"Do you want something?" Lily asked him, trying to keep her tone even.

She grew surprised when Potter suddenly bolted upright in his chair, his eyes scanning the room as if couldn't believe it was suddenly empty. If Lily wasn't so annoyed at him, she might've admitted that his startled puppy dog eyes were quite adorable. _What was that Evans,_ she scolded herself instantly.

"Uhh no," Potter said, jumping to his feet. "See you round Evans." Then he dashed from the room.

 _Okay that was weird._


	4. Quidditch Trials and JAMES?

"Okay," James shouted over the noise of forty kids who were all hoping to make the Gryffindor Quidditch team. James had been surprised to notice that Lily was one of them, but his surprise was almost immediately doused by the nightmare his trials was most likely going to turn into. Beside him, Sirius sent him a look of encouragement. "Okay listen up you lot."

The group fell silently, some students shuffling around to face him.

"So we're looking for two new chasers to join the team," James told the crowd. "Sirius here is going to help me with writing down hopefuls whilst the rest of the team is flying with you. I'll quickly introduce the team for those of you who don't know."

James waved his team forward so they were standing near him before pointing at each of them and saying their names. Benjy Boot – the sixth year James and Evans had caught out on the first night – was their keeper. He wore silver rimmed glasses and had sandy blonde hair. Then there was Alice and Marlene – seeker and beater respectively. James' second beater was a fifth year named Jack Robin.

"Now that you know everyone I want you guys to brake up into four groups of ten," James told them. "Sirius will then give you all a different number."

James got the first ten into the air straight away and starting with simple passing. He then broke them into smaller teams of five and played five on five with Marlene and Jack as a beater for each team. From the ground he would then proceed to call down a number till only two hopefuls were left from the first group.

"Okay you two stay here. The rest of you can leave but thanks for trying out," James said, waving them off.

He sent the second ground up. Then the third. By the time he sent the fourth group up it was nearing nightfall. James watched nervously as Lily wobbled up into the air, tailed by an encouraging Marlene.

"This doesn't look good," Sirius said to him. "Can Evans even fly?"

James ran his fingers through his hair. "I guess so," he replied.

James got them passing. It was obvious – and to put in bluntly – that Evans had no skills what so ever in the game. She missed most of the throws and couldn't balance long enough to properly throw it back. But she was in the air and that was saying something.

"Why is she even here?" Sirius asked as James got them to split into two smaller groups. "I've never seen her at a game – not once."

"Uhh long story," James muttered. "But I might've provoked her."

"Might've?" Sirius said, half laughing. "Prongs?"

"Yuh," James answered, keeping his eyes on Lily.

"You're an idiot."

"And you're a huge ass."

"Nice," Sirius commented. "But I was under the impression that you needed my help." He waved the paper containing James' list of hopefuls under his mate's nose.

James shoved him off, still keeping his eyes on the sky. Firmly, he reminded himself that he wasn't here to scout the worse fliers, but the best. He called two Gryffindor's down – both second years – deciding to give Evans another chance.

"Not to judge your captaining skills – they're impeccable – but those second year's were certainly doing better than Evans," Sirius told him.

James grinned. "I know," he replied. "But if I called her down she'd have had one or two things to say about it."

"Don't let her hear you saying that," Sirius said, sounding solemn but James' could read the grin all over his face.

"You think I'm mental, don't you?" James asked.

The grin fell of Sirius' face into something that resembled thoughtfulness – or as thoughtful as Sirius' expression could get. "I used too," Sirius told him.

James waited for him to continued, scratching his temple whilst Sirius scuffed his shoe back and forth over the green turf of the Quidditch pitch. When he didn't, James shrugged.

"I actually don't think I could explain it, even if I wanted to," he told Sirius. "Sometimes she makes me so angry that I think, okay I'll finally listen to what Remus has told me since fifth year and just move on but then I see her in the library or walking between classes and I can't even remember why I was angry with her in the first place."

James' couldn't believe how cliché the words sounded out loud, but there was no taking them back now. He waited for Sirius to pay him out, or at least tease him.

"She's not that pretty mate," he said, finally. There was a smile in his eyes but James couldn't figure out if it was sincere or mocking.

His answer was soppy, he knew it but he heard the words slip from his tongue anyway – "she is too me Pads."

Sirius, being the noble gentleman he was, coughed up a laugh, before hurriedly turning his focus back to the trials when noticing the look on James' face. James' feeling both foolish and lighthearted called another four numbers down – including Evans. As Sirius slashed out their names on his list, James watched Evans wobble slowly back to earth. When her feet touched the ground, he let out a sign of relief he hadn't even realized he'd been holding.

Then he had all of the wind knocked out of him at the sight of her coming towards them – her fiery hair was disheveled and wild, her pale cheeks flushed a rosy red and her eyes brighter than he'd ever seen them (well, when they were directed at him) – but it was her smile, wide and cheeky, that stole the words from his chest.

"Someone should've told me how much fun that was," she said, her voice airy and light. The smile only seemed to grow.

James gaped back at her. _What in Merlin's name was happening? Him? Lost for words… that was new._ When he didn't reply, Sirius sent him a confused stare.

"Pity you didn't make the team then," Sirius replied for him, waggling his eyebrows at her.

Evans shrugged, pushing her tangled ponytail off of her shoulder. "I thought you were on the team," she asked.

"I was," Sirius replied. "Got kicked off in fifth year for something that was definitely not my fault and was completely drawn out of proportion."

Evans laughed – a bubbly sound that knocked James' over again. Why was Evans suddenly standing around and joking with him and Sirius all of a sudden?

"That doesn't sound true but sure," Evans said in what James' could only describe as a teasing voice. "I guess I'll see you later. Good luck with the rest." James knew the last few words were directed at him but he was still lost for words, and could only watch as Evans threw them both a cheery wave and made her way back up to the castle.

Once she was out of earshot, Sirius rounded on him. "That, mate, was the most pathetic thing I've seen you do since that time you enchanted Evan's textbooks to sing love songs that you'd written for her."

James whacked him over the head. The rest of the trials went uneventful from then, with James close to happy with his final decision.

"I'll post the results in the common room as soon as possible," he told the remaining crowd. It was nearly dark, and most on lookers had left, which left James with only his top ten. "But thanks for all trying out."

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"Hey Moony," James said, looking up from the list of names Sirius had scrawled down for him from trials. Right now, Sirius was dead to the world – snoring heavily – but James was half tempted to wake him up since he couldn't make sense of the words he'd written at the bottom. That was when another thought had struck him.

"Yep," Remus replied from his bed.

Both him and Peter were peering over the Marauder's map. Well, more accurately, Peter had the map held to his face so close that his nose was almost touching the paper.

"When's the next full moon?"

"That exited to wreck havoc?" Remus countered, grinning.

James half shrugged, half nodded. It wasn't lying if Remus had been half correct, right?

"Uh it's this Thursday actually."

James leapt from his bed and hurried over to his school satchel. Evans had handed them out in their last prefect meeting – all neatly written and scheduled. She'd even given them the chance to move dates if necessary. _Why had he been so lazy as to not check?_ Ripping the patrols schedule from underneath two potions textbooks, James hurriedly scanned down next week's column. He and Lily's names were scheduled next to Monday – alongside Remus and some Ravenclaw. He signed a breath of relief, before noticing Tuesday's patrollers. Him and Lily and the Hufflepuff fifth years.

"Do Head students usually patrol every week day?" James asked, lifting his head. Because sure enough – there was his name – next to every single weekday for the rest of that term.

Remus cocked an eyebrow at that. "No," he said slowly. "You're scheduled Thursday then."

James nodded. "It must be a mistake," he said, standing up again. "I'll go talk to Lily."

"It's well past midnight Prongs," Remus pointed out.

James paused by the door, then slumped against it. "She knows doesn't she?" He said defeated.

"About you being an Animagus or me being a werewolf?"

James sent him a pointed look.

"Yeah okay," Remus said, nodding his head. "She's known about me since fifth year. She told me she'd purposefully made an effort this term to make sure I wasn't scheduled for patrols around and on the full moon."

"How do you reckon I get out of doing patrols for every full month this year without raising her suspicion and her finding out about my illegal activities?" James asked.

Remus gave James a look that said he was mad. "Maybe ask her why you're scheduled every day instead," he suggested. "And keep your illegal activities out of it."

"Yeah, alright," he replied. "How long has he been at that for?" James pointed over at Peter.

"About thirty minutes."

"Why?"

"He's stalking some girl."

"Peter, dude, that's pathetic."

"Thanks." Peter responded.

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The next morning James cornered Evans in the Head's common room just after breakfast. She was spread out on one of the window seats, a tattered book in hand.

"Hey Evans," he said, sitting himself down next to her.

She raised an eyebrow over the edge of her book, looking at him curiously. Then her eyes drifted towards the piece of parchment in his hand.

"Let me guess," she said, smirking. "I didn't make the team."

"What?" James replied, now confused. Evans pointed at the paper in his hands. "Huh? Oh, right. No that isn't it. Well it's true you didn't make the team but this is about patrols."

Evans' eyes narrowed. "What about them?" She said slowly.

"Well I wanted to know why we're both scheduled five times a week," James said. "Isn't that a bit much? Moony told me that this wasn't normal."

Evans blinked. "Moony? Oh right, Remus. I still don't get those nicknames." Noticing James exasperated look she hastily continued. "Dumbledore said he wanted us to double the patrols, namely with us doing most of the work. Kinda annoying really."

"And you didn't tell me this because?"

"You didn't know?" Evans answered, sounding surprised.

James' annoyance melted a little at her genuinely confused expression. "Well maybe you were supposed to pass on the message." His words came out harsher than he meant.

Evans coiled slightly at the tone. "I, well I just thought he'd told you too. He didn't make it sound like a big deal – he probably wants to prevent another Marauder group rising to fame after you lot leave."

She added the last bit with a teasing tone in her voice, but James barely heard it. There was something else there – something nagging at the back of his mind. It was a strange coincidence, James thought, for Dumbledore to up the patrols at the same time the attacks outside of Hogwarts grew to be out of hand. _What are you suggesting James? That these Death Eaters are going to attack Hogwarts?_ Wasn't getting into Hogwarts supposed to be impossible… unless, UNLESS he wasn't worried about attacks from the outside.

"Uhh Potter," Lily said, waving her hand before him.

James snapped out of his thoughts, expecting to see the same expression of horror and tension on her face that swamped his head but she was just frowning curiously.

"You haven't been training a bunch of first years," she asked him, narrowing her eyes. "Because that would be daft."

James found himself laughing. _Surely he was being daft, right?_ The Slytherins might act as if they're constantly up to no good, but they weren't planning something surely.

"We wouldn't dare give away all our trade secrets," James said, acting as if her idea was mental. "That's all part of the fun."

"Oh sure," Evans responded. "So tell me – do you know all the secrets Hogwarts has to offer?"

"I doubt it," James told her. "There's probably some huge secret chamber that we missed. Or even a whole other tower that can only be found on every blue moon at midnight."

Evans brightened at the idea, dropping her book onto the seat. "So it's more than just random secret passages."

"Padfoot and I have searched this entire castle – top to bottom – and we still haven't found the teacher's sleeping quarters. My theory is that they all sleep in their offices."

"What about the kitchens then?"

James winked. "Marauder secret."

Evans snorted. "Marly will get it out of Black one day."

"Good luck to her," James scoffed. "If you managed to wrangle it out of anyone it'd be me."

"What? In exchange for a date?" Evans suggested, not unkindly but the words still managed to knock James down one or two rungs.

He pushed back against the window seat, folding his arms. "You have to be asked to go on a date," he reminded her.

Evans winced. "Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean it like that. If anything its become something of a – well habit, I suppose."

"Sure," James said, standing up. "I actually wanted to tell you that I can't do patrols this Thursday."

"Yeah, sure that's fine," Lily said, her voice low. She glanced down at her fingers, the tips of her eyes growing red.

James nodded. "Well see you in class then."

"Wait – hang on," Evans said, jumping up from her seat. James paused, his heart thumping painfully in his chest. Her eyes were still focused on her hands, so James could only figure out the sound of her voice. It was hesitant, shy almost. "I – I want to say sorry, about before. I should've told you straight away and also about just then. I don't –

"Hey Evans, it's fine," James interrupted. "You just forgot something, I'm not mad or whatever."

She lifted her face. Her emerald eyes were so bright and wild and genuine that James took a small step closer. He couldn't take his eyes off the small freckles patterning her nose, the rosy shine to her cheeks.

"Oh good," she breathed airily. "Well thanks."

James nodded. She stepped backwards, her face suddenly blank. "I'm heading to the Gryffindor common room," he said. "Want to come?"

Evans shook her head. "I think I'll stay here," she told him. "But thanks." Then, almost as an after thought she added, "James. Thanks James."

A huge smile broke out across James' face – broad and gleaming. "No problem."

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 _James. James. James._ The sound of his name, spoken by Evans – Lily, he corrected himself – the sound of Lily saying his name filled James with a sense of joy he couldn't comprehend. It was just a name – but it was his name and Lily had spoken it.

He pushed past the Fat Lady portrait, still grinning and probably looking like a manic. Inside, he caught a glimpse of Peter and Remus sprawled over an entire desk – Remus scribbling away at some essay whilst Peter threw pieces of crumpled parchment across the room and into the fire. By the mess, he hadn't been very successful.

Sirius was lying across a scarlet sofa, shuffling slightly since Marlene was sitting cross legged atop of his knees. Alice had her embroidery piece out again, and was half laughing from her spot in a near by arm chair at the couple.

"You're so heavy," Sirius complained.

"Watch it Black," Marlene responded.

"Well you are," he told her, winking. "And your arse is bony."

Marlene thumped herself down again, giggling at the look on Sirius face. He was obviously trying to pretend he wasn't struggling, but he was looking more like a disabled Labrador.

"Prongs, mate," Sirius called, having spotted James approaching them. "A little help with your cousin."

James tutted. "She's your problem now Pads. Package deal."

"Nice to know you're appreciated," Marlene said to Alice.

Alice smiled, but then James realized that her smile was focused on him and he'd probably just been sitting there – staring into the distance. It was a look he'd seen in Marlene's eyes a countless amount of times.

"What are you day dreaming about Potter?" Alice teased.

"Huh?" Marlene swiveled around to get a better look. "He is day dreaming isn't he? What are you day dreaming about – tell me its Lily!"

"When isn't it Evans?" Sirius pointed out.

Marlene waved him off, much to his annoyance. "Spill the news – now."

"Wow, demanding," James joked, purposefully trying to divert the conversation. "I've come to pin this up actually." He told them, waving the new Quidditch team list around.

In the end, his final decision had been a no brainer.

"Ohh," Marlene beamed. "Who'd you pick? It better have been that third year – what's her name, Holly Balderstone."

James nodded. "Yeah her and Thomas McPharlan."

"Well go pin it up then," Marlene laughed. "And don't think you've invaded our previous question."

James rolled his eyes, turning to walk towards the notice board.

"Wait up Prongs," Sirius called, pulling his legs out from under Marlene and leaping to his feet. "Got something to tell you."

James waited for Sirius to join him before crossing the common room. The Gryffindor notice board was jam packed with all sorts of notices – someone had lost their wand, the Gobstones wants YOU as a new member, Ronda Queen was available for Potions tutoring and _blah, blah, blah._

"Engorgio," James said, tapping his notice with his wand. The list grew to four times its size.

"Nice mate," Sirius said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Not annoying in the slightest."

Ignoring his friend, James pinned the notice in the middle of the board. "What was that before?" He asked.

"Well I had an idea actually," Sirius said. "For a prank."

"A prank?" James repeated, cocking his eyebrow.

"Well it's not a prank exactly – more of a social experiment. Plus, it will be hilarious."

Now he had piped James attention. "What do you have in mind?"

"Okay so you remember in Potions class how Slughorn showed us all those potions we'd be brewing over the NEWT year?" James nodded. "Well I managed to nick some of the Polyjuice Potion."

James leant over and whacked Sirius against his temple. Sirius coiled backward, rubbing his skull.

"Mate," he complained. "Not cool."

"That's because you're an idiot. I'm still standing here though because you're also a genius." Surprisingly the idea had belonged to Remus – when James had read his note in Transfiguration he'd almost died from holding in his shock. The idea was so odd and so random.

Sirius faked a bow. "No need for the tone of surprise."

"Tomorrow, you reckon?"

Sirius nodded. "We'll give everyone a show down at breakfast."


	5. Sneaky, greasy Slytherins

**Okay so I have a lot to apologize for – well only one thing (MY LACK OF POSTING) but I have lots of making up to do. My life just got really hectic and then midsems came around and basically I had no time to even sleep. But here's another chapter. I really will try to be more regular (every second week max lateness – fingers crosses) but I don't want to make promises. This chapter is shorter since I wanted to remind you guys that I'm still here, but since I'm posting less regularly I will try to make them longer.**

 **Disclaimer: you know the drill. Go JK Rowling.**

 **LILY POV**

Lily grabbed her wand from the table and rushed out the portrait door. When Potter – James she corrected herself – when James had said he couldn't make Thursday's patrol she's barely given it a second thought. Partly because she was frantic over her Transfiguration homework, but mostly because James had just made her so flustered. It wasn't like Lily to get so worked up over a boy, but here she was, so caught up in her odd relationship with James that she'd forgotten to reschedule someone to do patrols with her.

No she had two lonely hours of trudging around the school corridors. In a way it was a blessing that James wasn't here. Lily doubted she could survive two hours with him without blurting out something she'd instantly regret. When had James made her feel so self-conscious? But then again, if he were here, he'd help her pass the dreary hours. _And you'd be able to spend more time with him,_ a traitorous voice inside her muttered.

After James had stomped from their common room Lily had instantly gone to check the patrols schedule. On her one she'd evenly marked out each full moon to make sure she gave Remus plenty of recovery time. When she first saw the small circle next to today's date, she wasn't even surprised to find out that Potter was skiving his duties on a full moon. I mean, what else occurred at Hogwarts during the night. Maybe the annual Gobstones party but that really wasn't James' scene. And if he was consumed with homework he would've just said that. Now that she remembered it, he hadn't even given her a reason.

Lily decided to start with the lower grounds, before making her way up to the Astronomy tower. From memory, a Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw duo were allocated down in the dungeons and near the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw towers.

The grounds, as usual, were silent. In the distance Lily could see the Whoomping Willow thrashing and shoving in the breeze. Then beyond that, only a dark shadow, was Hagrid's hut and the dark forest. Lily had only ever been in there once for class, and that was enough. She remembered Remus once telling her that he'd had detention in there at night with James. No thank you.

A choir of low voices pulled her from her thoughts. All her worrying, and Lily hadn't even given an encounter with five Slytherins a thought. Sucking in a surprised gasp at the sight of them milling in the corridor, Lily ducked behind a corner. She gave herself three seconds before risking a glance at the group. She recognized Snape instantly, and the face of Avery wasn't one she'd forgot easily. Then there was Evan – a nasty, seventh year beater on the Quidditch team. She recognized Mulciber, but only because he was a prefect. The fifth Slytherin was a fifth year, also a prefect and a seeker to boot. Regulus Black slouched against the wall, his wand held loosely in his fingers, a grimace spread across his striking face.

"I thought you knew how to use it?" Evan hissed, staring squarely at Snape.

"I do," Snape drawled. "But it seems that we have company."

Lily darted back into the shadows, positive that he'd spotted her.

Evan cackled. "Look who it is," he said cheerfully, clapping his beefy hands. Lily could feel her heart pounding through her chest. Five against one weren't good odds. "Little baby Black and his croonies."

At that Lily frowned. She risked another glance at the group, her pulse soaring into her throat at the sight of two boys supporting a third in their arms. Sirius Black glanced up at that, his look of worry vanishing into one of annoyance. As if stumbling upon a group of five Slytherins was just an itch on his head. That was when Lily spotted James. Sirius had dumped most of his weight onto Peter, and since the boy was so small it was suddenly obvious just how injured James was.

"Looks like you lot have already found trouble," Avery drawled. He pulled his wand from his pocket.

"And we're not looking for anymore," Peter quipped, his voice breaking slightly.

"Looks like he's been mauled," Avery continued, pointing at the two, huge claw marks running down James' arm.

"It's nothing," Sirius said hurriedly. "A stupid dueling match gone wrong." He eyed the three Slytherin prefects – his eyes landing almost sadly onto his brother's blank face.

Evan brandished his wand from under her cloak, grinning manically. "I know some new spells that can fix him up easily." He edged closer.

Lily could almost feel the tension that radiated off Sirius as the deranged Slytherin inched closer. Evan was know for his tendency to turn maniacal with glee during a fight. Peter was still struggling to support James, his eyes darting nervously to the amount of blood that was now getting all over his hands. Lily knew she had to somehow get involved – that was her job – but you'd either have to be mad to jump between five Slytherins or completely insane.

"You really think you can take on five Slytherins?" Evan howled, glaring down at Sirius.

Lily almost fell over in shock when she noticed Sirius expression. He was gearing up for a fight – that was clear – but she could also so the far away look of helplessness. He knew he was going in way over his head, but he was still going in regardless.

"Piece of cake," Sirius said, grinning edgily. "You lot are all so greasy you end up slipping over each other."

Peter snorted involuntarily. _Okay Lily._ She thought firmly. _You're a school prefect, and Head Girl to boot._ She pushed aside the small nudge in her brain that told her why she really was about to jump into the train wreck of a situation. With one last nervous glance at James, Lily stepped out from the shadows, brandishing her wand bravely.

A part of her wanted to make some smart alec response, but she thought it would be smarter to constructively use her element of surprise. She pointed her wand at Avery – smiling pointedly at Sirius – before wordlessly hexing him. Avery crumpled soundlessly to the ground, causing the four remaining Slytherins to hurl on their feet. Evan relaxed visibly at the sight of Lily, but Snape kept his wand upheld, uncertain.

"Another Gryffindor baby out to play," Evan said cockily.

"Get off or I'll dock points," Lily threatened.

"Ohhh you got us," Mulciber sneered, pretending to surrender.

"If you lay a single hex on them I'll get Dumbledore," Lily continued, pretending to act bold.

"Leave the mudblood," Avery said, shrugging. "Let her watch."

Evan slashed his wand through the air, throwing Peter to the ground and hefting James into the air. Lily gasped as Peter hit the ground stone cold, his wand rolling across the cobblestoned floor. Dumbledore would've wanted her to resolve the situation without magic, but right now Lily couldn't care less. She sent a well-aimed stunner at Mulicber whilst Sirius advanced towards his cousin. From the corner of her eye she noticed as Regulus snuck away into the shadows, his expression torn. It was now one on one, but Snape stood on the sidelines, his eyes on her but his wand still tucked before his cloak.

"Now, now Black," Evan chanted. "Stun me and I'm not sure if Potter here will survive the fall."

Lily glanced up at James – blood was dripping from the slash marks onto the ground, his face a ghostly grey and his breaths short and shallow.

"I'll be here to catch him," Lily said.

Evan rolled his eyes, glancing towards Snape with an almost frustrated expression. The look left her eyes immediately, however, once she fully glimpsed Severus. His eyes were still on Lily, but his face was unrecognizable.

"Rotten lot of use you bunch our," he sneered. He lowered his wand, the movements mimicked by James' fragile figure. "You keep your eyes peeled. The rest aren't this useless."

And with that he rushed from the corridor, his black cloak billowing around his ankles. Lily rushed forward, dropping on her knees beside James.

"What happened to him?" She managed to gasp. Her fingers hovered uselessly over the deep gashes.

When Sirius didn't reply, she glanced up, watching anxiously as he revived Peter.

"We've got to take him to Pomfrey," Lily continued.

Peter groaned, rubbing his head as he sat up. Sirius, on the other hand, was still crouched on the groan, his eyes flitting between Lily and James. Lily had seen that look countless of times on James' face when he was trying to think up some excuse for being out after hours, or why transforming the entire dining hall into a jungle wasn't a plausible reason to give out two months worth of detentions. Peter looked distressed as he realised what had just happened. In the end Sirius just grunted.

"We'll take him," he grumbled, standing up.

"I'll come with you," Lily said. "You'll need a prefect to explain why you were out after hours. Plus, she'll be less mad if I'm with you."

There was obvious truth in her words, but Lily could tell that Sirius was growing more and more annoyed at her.

"How about you go back to being a good prefect and leave the trouble to us," Sirius said. "C'mon Pete, help me shift him."

Both boys hefted James up into their arms. His head lolled to one side, his eyes fluttering. Lily took a worried step forward, but stopped at the look on Sirius' face.

"We can handle our own shit Evans," Sirius growled. "I'll leave you to deal with these two." He pointed at the direction of the two unconscious Slytherins on the ground.

"Alright," Lily reluctantly agreed. "I'll drop in after my patrols to see how he is."

"Why do you suddenly care Evans?" Sirius said.

"C'mon Padfoot," Peter interrupted. He wiped more of James blood off of his fingers.

The two boys started off, Peter looking apologetically at Lily. Lily couldn't pinpoint why Sirius words hurt so much, but they did and as they swept past her, she couldn't find anything left to say.

(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)

The next morning Lily wandered down to the Great Hall by herself. The past few days she's waited for James to emerge since she no longer had the girls, but she assumed he'd still be in the hospital wing. She found an empty seat halfway down. Grabbing a piece of warm toast, she dropped a few clumps of butter on top – waiting for them to melt – before adding a scoop of jam. It was seven thirty in the morning and the hall was almost empty. That meant no one to disturb her thoughts, no one to bother her –

"Hey Lily," a voice tumbled from behind her.

Lily almost fell out of her bench at the sound of James Potter's voice. He went to take the seat beside her, but recoiled at little at the expression on her face.

"What? Is someone already sitting here?" James questioned, his smile falling into pieces.

"No, no, no," Lily said hurriedly, ushering him to sit down. "Of course you can. I just wasn't expecting you."

"It's breakfast," James said, dropping down beside her. "Something I happen to do every morning."

"Yeah but considering the state of you last night I would've thought Pomfrey would have kept you for a bit longer," Lily told him.

He paused, his slice of toast caught half way between his plate and open mouth. "You were there last night?" James asked cautiously.

"Yeah, you know for that thing I do every night," she said. Catching his blank glance, she added. "Patrols, James."

"Oh right," James said, hurriedly shoving the piece of toast into his mouth. "Yeah, yeah Pomfrey fixed me up real fast. Should teach me not to mess with Padfoot again. Sorry about skipping out last night – seems like it wasn't everyone's best one."

Lily shrugged. "It certainly didn't make it to the top ten."

"Top ten, huh?" James said, winking.

Lily swatted her across the head. "Get your head out of the gutter, Potter."

"Ehh," James moaned, rubbing his skull. "Cheeky and _frisky."_

"If you're going to insist on acting twelve again…" Lily started, already on her feet, before she caught James' wide smile. She paused. Maybe Marlene was right and she did take James' stupid jokes too seriously. She flopped back into her seat. "You're infuriating you know that?"

"So my mum is constantly saying," James answered, reaching for another slice of toast.

Lily grinned, but pushed it aside as soon as James turned back to face her. For a split second, she was sure he'd noticed since an ear splitting smile run across his face.

"You busy this weekend Evans?" He asked. Lily knew she was over exaggerating the arrogance in his voice, but it was there regardless and it ticked her off instantly.

"Nupe," Lily said, standing up. "I'm off. Enjoy your breakfast Potter."

With that she stormed from the Great Hall, infuriated at herself for allowing herself to be so wound up by James' antics. He was just mucking around, Lily had to remind herself firmly, but it still annoyed her to great lengths. And how dare he just rock up to breakfast, unscathed and free from Pomfrey's iron grip.

She banged past Sirius in the corridor, knocking him to the side and causing a pile of books to tumble from his hands. They hit the fall with a scattered _thud._

"Watch it," Sirius barked, dropping to the ground to gather his books.

Lily doubted he even realized whom he'd bumped into. "Sorry for getting in the way," she snapped, but she dropped to the ground to help him regardless.

At her voice Sirius glanced up. His face broke into a large grin. "Evans," he said cheerfully. Lily wasn't sure if the guilt in his voice was genuine or not. "No hard feelings right?"

"Other than the fact that I forgot to throw all your arses into a years worth of detentions?" She quipped. The power was in her hands – she still could dock points of Black's sorry ass – but when it came to Sirius house points and detentions never seemed to put a dent in his ego.

Sirius blinked. "So you'd rather we left Prongs' to bled to death in the common room?"

"Don't act stupid Black," Lily said. She passed Sirius' his stack of books. "You weren't even coming from the direction of Gryffindor. Besides, unauthorized duels are against the rules."

"Ergh," Sirius said, miming gagging. "Don't recite the rule book to me. I have much better things to do with my time."

He shoved around Lily, marching his way down to the Great Hall. Lily had only taken another few steps down the corridor when she ran into Marlene and Alice.

"Hey Lils," Alice greeted her.

Lily grunted back.

"Sorry Lily I dropped Troll in fourth year," Marlene commented sarcastically. "But luckily my divination is top notch. Let me guess, a rough encounter with my pea brain of a cousin."

Lily threw her hands up. "And I think I actually managed to piss of Black after."

"I always thought he was easy to piss off," Alice said.

"Easy there girls – this is my boyfriend you're badmouthing," Marlene said, her voice defensive but Lily easily heard the laughter behind her words.

Alice giggled. "I've always questioned your choices Marlene."

Marlene scoffed. "At least I'm not lusting after the same boy for over three years now."

The smile fell from Alice's face, but instead of looking angry she simply looked dejected. Lily threw Marlene a pointed glance, before rubbing Alice on the back. "I'm sure he'll catch onto how gorgeous and cool you are Al," she told her best friend. "Just give it time. And becoming friends first couldn't hurt, right?"

"He thinks I'm weird," Alice complained. "All the boys think I'm weird."

Unfortunately for Alice, her words rung of the truth. Her quirky habits and often mother like mannerisms had caused various stirs among the Hogwarts population. During fourth year someone – Lily had strongly suspected Black for this one – had started the rumor that she was a queer. It took most of fifth year to squelch it.

"You're different," Marlene said firmly. "I hate superficial stereotypes like Ruby Ancot."

"Yeah but look how many boyfriends she's had," Alice said sulkily. "Oh what am I doing? Complaining about my love life in a corridor. C'mon I'm starved. You coming Lily?"

"Already been," Lily said. "I'll see you lot in class."


	6. The Will of Alphard Black

**So in an attempt to make up for my laziness I've been writing my fingers off and have another two chapters to post. YAY for lazy Fridays in bed. Hope you all enjoy and don't forgot to chuck in a review at the bottom. XOX**

 **JAMES POV**

Almost a week had passed since the incident with Remus, but the werewolf was still refusing to acknowledge him. To re-hash that, Remus had apologized constantly for three days straight, and then we he noticed how little James cared, he taken to ignoring him. The only reason James wasn't angry, was because he'd almost been expecting Remus' reaction.

And the fact that he remembered very little of that night probably helped considerably. James slugged down from his one-man bedroom, his satchel hefted over his shoulder. His and Lily's common room wasn't in its usual empty state – instead Lily had both Marlene and Alice over for their weekly, Tuesday night study session. James stifled a yawn as he flopped down onto the couch.

At the beginning of term he'd been over the moon to be sharing a common room with only Lily, but ever since the Remus-incident things had become tense again. Once he'd been able to rely on being surrounded by people after they fought, but since they now both retreated to the same common room it had just made things more and more awkward. And it didn't help, that instead of shouting and grueling him, Lily had taken up a stony silence. Maybe stony was the right word, James thought, glancing over at her. It was more curious, and sometimes she even looked intrigued. But somehow that was even worse.

She wasn't angry – that much James' knew since they'd been friendly during last night's patrols. Well, as friendly as they'd ever been. Teasing and jostles only came hand in hand when you put James and Lily together.

"Oh stop sulking," Marlene said, poking James in the thigh.

James blinked out of his daze. All three girls were watching him – each with entirely different expressions. Marlene looked nauseatingly all knowing, as if she could somehow read James' thoughts. The thought bothered James immensely. Alice looked as if she had a smile on the tips of her lips. Off the three girls Alice was the most romantic, and she'd often dropped hints to James that he and Lily would make a great couple. He appreciated the gesture, but never failed to point out that he agreed wholeheartedly with her, and that it was Lily she should be trying to convince not him. Then there was Lily. She was perched on the edge of Alice's armchair, her friend's essay clutched in her fingers. James' wasn't sure how to explain her expression but it looked as if she were about to leap from the chair and throw herself at him. She looked so fragile, so uncertain, so indecisive.

"I'm not sulking," James argued, scowling at his cousin. Her expression was the easiest to figure out, that he aimed his words at her.

"Yes you are," Marlene flaunted. She looked pleased with herself. "You're bored and your crew of insufferable friends aren't here to appease you."

"Insufferable?" James repeated. "You don't happen to be referring to your boyfriend?"

"That's exactly who I'm referring to," she continued, her mannerisms heavily swaying towards a joking tone. "I invited that little prat over tonight but he's occupied with _something_ else."

At that James frowned. He was about to speak, when Lily sliced through his thoughts. "You invited him over here? Him as in Black?" She asked. "Even though you were well aware of your other priorities." She waved her wand over the display of textbooks and scattered, half written essays.

Marlene rolled her eyes. "After you left Lily," she said.

"And what makes you think I'd leave my common room with only you and Black to look after it?"

James tutted. "Our common room," he pointed out.

Lily scowled at him. She'd been teasing with Marlene, but with James the annoyance fall into place almost simultaneously. And to think that they'd gotten along so well after Quidditch trials.

"Is that why you're buddy-ing me up?" James said, turning to his cousin.

"Huh?" Marlene said, innocently scratching out a line on her parchment.

"Don't play me the fool," James teased.

"Well is it working?" Marlene asked.

"Even if it were, I couldn't tell you. I have no clue what that boy is up to," James told her. Catching Lily's skeptical glare, he added. "Honestly."

"Don't you lot have ways of knowing were everyone is?" Alice asked. James' knew she was referring to fifth year when he used to stalk Lily around the castle.

Usually those sorts of comments would draw displeasure from Lily, but for once it seemed to perk her curiosity. She dumped her essay, and slide down to join Alice in her armchair. Once again, James found all three girls staring at him. This whole ganging up on James thing was already growing old, he thought miserably.

"C'mon girls," James said testily, backing up off of his chair. "Play fair."

Marlene smirked. "We could always search your room," she threatened.

James laughed at the look of disgust on Lily's face. Even though the marauders map was resting on his bedside table, there was no way they'd be able to figure it out. As for the cloak – well that was sprawled all over his floor.

"Evans doesn't look to happy with that idea," James pointed out. He was almost at the portrait door.

Marlene shrugged. "Don't you want to know what your best friend is up to?"

Honestly, James wasn't too fussed. Before Marlene, if he'd snuck off after hours it was usually to get with some chick in an empty classroom, or if the girl was easy, in a cramped broom cupboard. James didn't want to talk bad about his friend, but not once had Sirius mentioned how serious his thing with Marlene was. Sure he'd gotten Marlene a birthday present – something he'd antagonized over for ages – but that was typical Sirius foreplay. His motto during fifth year had even been – _keep 'em happy till your bored of 'em._ Luckily for him, the motto had never left their dorm.

"He's a big boy," James commented. He could sense that Marlene was put off by James' lack of interest, and he felt slightly guilty as she backed down. "I wouldn't worry," he added.

"I'm not," Marlene snapped back.

Alice and Lily hastily went back to their work. James and Marlene weren't the only two Gryffindor's with huge opinions and permanently stubborn backbones, but being cousins made them more comfortable around each other and whilst their arguments blew over quicker than most, they were usually some of the loudest and harshest.

"You know he might be studying," Alice said, although it was clear she didn't believe her words.

"I know what you're all thinking," Marlene growled. She shoved a finger into James' chest. "How about you go and do your secret marauder business and confirm everyone's suspicions."

James wasn't sure how he was supposed to explain how a single trip to his room would inform him of Sirius location but he left anyway. Back in his room he waved him wand over the map and muttered the password. It took him nearly five full minutes to locate Sirius since he was too lazily to strategically search each corridor, and had instead gone to places he'd thought Sirius would be. Alone in the astronomy tower didn't exactly scream _Sirius,_ but there he was. James' watched his dot for a bit, wondering why Sirius was pacing back and forth.

James' first instinct was to go to his friend, but how was he supposed to explain where he was going to the girl. He glanced at his watch. He had patrols with Lily in less than an hour. Not for the first time, James wished that apparating inside the castle's walls was a thing. He scanned his room, only stopped to glance momentarily at his broom propped up against the wall. Using his broom to jump out from his window after curfew to check on his mate in the Astronomy tower was definitely detention worthy. In fact, James' suspected it'd break enough rules to impose a months worth of detentions.

Why was he even contemplating the risk when he could easily stroll through the castle confident in the fact that his being Head Boy would distill any suspicions of his late night intentions? The answer was simple. Whatever Sirius was doing, James knew that bringing the girls along – since Lily would insist, Marlene would argue that it was her girlfriendly duties and Alice would tag along for fun – would just cause Sirius to hide the truth behind his wall of sarcasm and pratty comments.

"All right you idiot," James spoke aloud, picking up his broom. He eyed the cloak on the ground, but decided against it. It was most likely to just fly off. He shoved the map into his cloak pocket, kicked his invisibility cloak under his bed and shuffled over to the window.

Once he was outside and zooming through the darkness, James couldn't help whooping and doing a couple of loop-de-loops in quick succession. The night was cloudy, which hide the moon perfectly and cast James into thick shadows. Bottling up his excitement, James pulled his broom in the direction of the Astronomy tower.

All up it look less than a minute to fly there. The marauders had all sorts of short cuts around the school, but none that cut of at least fifteen minutes. He flew through the nearest window, almost crash landing straight into a surprised Sirius.

The boy yelped in confusion, instantly reaching for his wand and brandishing it at James.

"Hey," James shouted. "Woah, Padfoot. Mate, it's me."

"Prongs?" Sirius said skeptically. Then, when he was sure it was his friend, "what the hell mate? Are you mental?"

"I had no other options," James protested. "I was cornered."

"Walking too above you now?" Even for Sirius, the words had too much sting.

"I was concerned," James explained. "Marlene said you turned her down, and really mate, when do you ever turn a girl down? I was peer pressured into performing our sacred rituals."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "All right, all right – tone it down. Filch has already been up here twice."

"What are you even doing up here?" James pressed.

"What do you think?" Sirius grumbled, waving a sealed envelope at James. "But I think Regulus has our owl."

"You can use mine," James offered, ignoring that fact that it was entirely out of character for Sirius to be up here, after hours, posting mail. But James knew better than to pry, Sirius would come around eventually.

"Thanks," he said, tying his letter to the leg of James' white owl.

"Who's it too?" James asked, picking up his owl and carrying him over to the window.

"My uncle," Sirius grudgingly offered. "Ellie knows were to go."

At that, James raised his eyebrow.

"Okay so I've used your bird a few times before, what gives?" Sirius said.

Shrugging, James stroked Ellie a few times before gently throwing her out the window into the darkness. "Want to talk about it?" James said, leading Sirius back down the steps and to the corridors below.

"Not really," Sirius said dejectedly. "But you're probably going to hear about it soon enough."

James frowned, growing worried. "Padfoot," he started slowly. "Has this got to do with your family?"

"When hasn't it got to do with them?" Sirius growled. "It's my uncle," he added, his voice softer. "Alphard Black." Noticing James confused expression, he continued. "You know who I'm talking about. Kinda like me with the whole hates his family and their blood purist ideals. He was in Ravenclaw during school, so they never disowned him. It's really only Gryffindor and Hufflepuff they have issues with. My cousin, Andromeda was Hufflepuff. But they only blasted her off the tapestry after she married Muggle born Ted and ran away with their kid."

Realizing he was starting to stray off topic, Sirius groaned and frantically ran his fingers through his hair.

"My uncles really sick," he said. "Mother is trying to get him to re-consider his will. He's really rich you see – not only with money but also with his estates. He has quite a few spread out throughout the country. My Aunt Druella wants him to give one to each of her daughters – well aside from Andromeda. And Mother wants some of the money for herself and Reg. But Alphard's not having any of it."

James couldn't believe what he was hearing. The Black family wasn't even bothering to help their relative; instead they were too busy squabbling over his will.

"So if he's not passing it to his family, what is he doing with the money?" James asked.

Sirius laughed at that. "Well that's the issue – he is giving away his stuff, but only to one relative. I know he means well, but it's basically turned the entire family even more against me."

"Hang on – what? Your uncle's given everything to you?" James nearly shouted.

Sirius gave him the stink eye.

"Sorry, sorry," James hastily whispered. "It's only, mate – that's a lot. You'd be set for life."

"If I survive through this. Mother's making my life a living hell, and even if she can't get the will revised before he dies, she'll probably torture it off me after. And there's not much I can do with the money, aside putting it away in a trust fund until I'm of age."

"Which is only four months away," James pointed out.

"This is getting depressing," Sirius complained. They'd almost reached the door to James' common room. "And don't you have patrols."

James risked a glance at his watch and muttered a curse. He'd only be a few minutes late, but any type of lateness was a one-way ticket out of gaining Lily's approval and friendship.

"Do you want to come inside?" James offered. "You can camp out on the sofa's if you don't feel like being near people."

"Aren't the girls inside?" Sirius pointed out.

"You should probably talk to Marly. She seemed off all afternoon."

Sirius winced. "Maybe in the morning. Night Prongs."

James waved his friend off, fuming with anger that was directed straight at the Black family. He was planning exactly what he'd say and what hex he'd use if he ever met the infamous Walburga Black, that he completely forgotten the fact that he had a broom in hand and was last seem strolling up to his room. The three girls spun on their feet, wandering who the hell would know the password, before realizing that it was James.

"What in Merlin's name," Marlene started, before her eyes trailed to the broom in his grip. "James Robert Potter, if you tell me you flew from your bedroom window I will hex you into tomorrow."

"You have got to be kidding," Alice said, but her tone varied immensely from Marlene's. James swore he heard some admiration in her words.

"Rest assured girls," James said. "For I was not caught, and I did find Sirius." Hooking his focus onto Marlene he pointedly added, "a very alone Sirius."

Rolling her eyes, Lily waved a finger at him. "Hurry and dump that broom before I decide to give you a couple hundred detentions."

"That's definitely a positive improvement Evans," James said, winking and wondering when they'd gone back to using last names.

"I'm getting close Potter," Lily said smoothly.

James ran for the stairs, and was about halfway up when he overheard Lily's voice floating towards him – "he may be a prat but you have to give it to him, that boy's got talent."

Heart thumping, James paused instantly.

"He's still a prat," Marlene said loudly, causing James to snicker before realizing it was overtly obvious as to what he was doing.

The rest of the hike to his room was done in maximum silence.


	7. encounters at Hogsmeade

**To make up for all the Jily fluff I've been kinda ignoring – the end gets quite cute so watch out ;)**

 **LILY POV**

The 1st of October rose bright blue and cloudless. It also marked a lazy Sunday in the eyes of Lily Evans who was still sprawled in bed, despite the late hour. Marlene had been and gone a few times already, with each visit drawing another sarcastic comment about Lily's behaviour. But frankly Lily couldn't bring herself to care. And, as she'd pointed out to Marlene she had been up already since she had to walk from her new bed – albeit still in her pajamas – to get to her old bed.

She was too busy worrying about something that made her angry because she didn't want to be stressing over the said worry. It was the first Hogsmeade visit of term and Lily didn't want to drag herself from her bed. JShe'd been asked by two different guys – each which she'd turned down. To be fair, the second guy was Remus and he was only asking because the other three marauders had dates. And here she was, back to worrying about the thing that made her angry for worrying.

Marlene was obviously going with Sirius, although Lily had noticed her hesitation when Sirius had asked. None of the girls knew what was going on with Sirius, and Lily had tried nagging it out of James during Patrols but he kept his mouth sealed. Peter had asked Amber Morgan – a pretty Ravenclaw sixth year – a couple of days ago, and to even his surprise she'd said yes. Then there was James. Lily knew it sounded bad against her, but she was shockingly surprised when instead of asking her, he'd asked Poppy Williams.

Poppy was a seventh year Gryffindor and shared a dorm with Lily. They usually got along quite well, even if Poppy mainly stuck with the fifth member of their dorm – Mary MacDonald. Poppy was tall, with legs for days and long, golden brown hair. She'd just gotten back from a two-month beach holiday and was therefore thoroughly tanned. She had wide, bright blue eyes and – not that Lily usually noticed these types of things – huge boobs. It was one of the reasons Lily had opted to stay in bed – this way she could spy on Poppy without freaking the girl out.

Marlene returned for the fourth time that morning, this time with Alice. Unfortunately for Lily, they both caught her eyeing Poppy as she run a comb through her _perfect, perfect_ hair. Marlene smirked.

"Say Poppy," Marlene started, ignoring Lily's stink eye. "Where are you and my delightful cousin going today?"

Poppy flopped her curls over her shoulder before turning to face the girls. Her eyes instantly went to Lily.

"You do realise it's near noon Lily," Poppy said.

Lily pouted, but made an effort not to reply with something sarcastic.

"As for you Marlene, I don't know where James' is taking me. He only asked me yesterday, and it was kind of rushed at that," Poppy explained. She turned back to her mirror.

Lily watched as she expertly tied her hair back into a loose and messy, yet elegant pony tail.

"He and he's mates usually hang around the Hogs Head," Marlene continued. "I reckon the bar tender serves minors there, because I can't see its appeal honestly. I suppose they are boys. But since it is just you and James." Lily could've sworn Marlene was out to torture her. "I'd say he'd want somewhere that was still secluded but suitable for a date."

"If he takes me to Madame Puddifoots I just might scream," Poppy joked.

"Do you and James usually speak?" Alice asked. Realizing how the question might be taken offensively, she hurriedly added, "I mean, I've never really seen you two together – so people are wondering, well people think –

"That me and James are having a secret fling?" Poppy finished. She tucked her wand into the pocket of her flowing dress.

"Well yeah," Alice said timidly.

"Well you can tell those rumor starters that we're not," Poppy said firmly. "I'm not really into James. He's just fun to be around, and Mary's busy with work so I thought why not."

"Does he know that?" Marlene asked.

Lily sunk deeper and deeper into her sheets. It was so plaintively obvious as to what her two friends were doing.

"If he doesn't, then I guess he'll find out soon enough," she told them. "Anyway, I always thought James had a thing for you Lily. I expect he's just trying to make you jealous or something by taking me."

"And you're fine with that?" Marlene said incredulously.

"Like I said – I had nothing else to do. And who knows, maybe James' is just asking me as a friend or something," Poppy said.

Marlene scoffed, but noticing the hurt look on Poppy's face she turned it into a weak cough. "You could've gone with us. Well, Alice and Lily here."

"You girls are nice," Poppy said, blushing. "But it's too tiring keeping up with all your ins and out jokes. I better go, I told James I'd meet him in the common room at noon. See you there maybe."

Lily watched nervously as Poppy swept from the room. As soon as she was out of earshot, Lily rounded on her friend.

"That was out of line," she told Marlene.

"You got what you wanted from that conversation," Marlene said, rolling her eyes. "You should be thanking me."

"Yeah and you managed to seriously damper Poppy's mood," Lily muttered.

"Oh stop being a drama Queen Lily," Marlene snapped. "Sitting up here acting all sulky and down in the dumps, then rounding on your friends when we try to help. I'm going to go find Sirius. Enjoy your bed."

Marlene stamped from the room, smiling boldly at Alice before disappearing down the stairs. Alice sat tentatively on the edge of Lily's bed. Lily smiled at her friend's kind face. Alice had her opinions, and was just as strong minded and stubborn as her two friends, but someone managed to come across as fragile and sweet in her words. Lily wasn't the type to envy her friends, but it was certainly a trait that did more good than bad.

"C'mon Lils – Marly's right, there's no point mopping. We can go together and get some lunch or something," Alice said softly. "There's also this dress I saw in a catalogue that I want to try on."

Pushing back her complaints, Lily slide out from under her sheets. "I don't know why I care so much Alice, I really don't. It's not like I want to date him or anything…" she trailed off, praying that Alice would be able to untangle the knots of her mind.

"I understand that," Alice said. "I don't think it's jealously either. I think you're scared."

"Scared?" Lily repeated. That was new. She pulled on a pair of denim shorts and a cream, cashmere jumper.

"Yeah scared that you've already ruined any sort of relationship you could've had with James," Alice said bluntly.

Okay screw the idea that Alice was softer with her words. That stung painfully.

"He hates me? Doesn't he?" Lily said woundedly. "I've tried – I really have, but everything he says aggravates me so much that I can't help snapping at him."

Alice raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, fine maybe I haven't tried _that_ hard but still."

"C'mon," Alice said. "We can go try now."

"I'm not crashing James' date," Lily said firmly. "That's too much."

Alice just rolled her eyes.

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The stupid weather made Lily even more annoyed. Her and Alice were sprawled around a table in the Three Broomsticks, their tummies full and their plates empty. The place was mainly full of third and fourth years, with a few older couples on dates. Lily was still surveying the crowded room, when she heard Alice groan and sink deeper into her seat.

Lily grinned when she noticed who'd just walked in. Frank Longbottom was a cheery, good looking Hufflepuff and also the object of Alice's affection. He was a prefect, and although Lily didn't know him that well she used to do the odd patrol with him. After Alice's and Marlene grueling this morning, Lily only thought it was fair to call him over. The boy was by himself, for bleeding sake.

"Hey Frank," Lily called, waving him over.

Alice moaned in surprise.

"Sit up properly you idiot," Lily whispered to her.

"Hey Lily," Frank said brightly. "Alice."

Alice simply whimpered.

"Want to join us?" Lily offered, waving her hand at the spare space beside Alice.

"Sure," Frank replied. "Just let me go order a Butterbeer or something. You girls want anything?"

"If you see any of those round, jam drop biscuits in the glass counter," Lily said instantly. "Here I've got coins."

Frank smiles. "No need."

As soon as he was out of earshot, Alice nearly rose out of her chair. "What in Merlin's name are you doing?" She growled. "He's going to think I'm so desperate."

"Al, clam down. Frank and I used to do patrols together," Lily told her.

"What am I supposed to say?" Alice moaned, sinking back into her chair. "How do I act."

"Just be yourself," Alice offered.

"Oh brilliant. Never heard of that piece of advice before. I'm all better now," Alice said sarcastically.

Lily didn't take her tone seriously. Alice had a habit of hiding her nerves behind sarcasm at times. She did grow surprised though, when Alice's look of horror moulded into a wide smirk.

"How this is too good," Alice said.

Lily turned in her chair to catch Frank balancing two Butterbeers in his hand. Next to him was James with her jamdrop in a brown paper bag.

"Hey girls," James said, dropping down beside Lily. He pushed the bag across the table to Lily. "Here's your biscuit."

Lily mumbled thanks, as Frank took his seat near Alice and passed James one of the drinks. "I found James moping all alone at the bar," Frank explained.

Lily strongly suspected the absence of Poppy had something to do with Marlene. "I thought you were on a date?"

"I was," James said. "But she didn't really seem that interested. And then she told me my blasted cousin had said some stuff about me this morning. All in all it wasn't my favourite date."

"That's too bad mate," Frank said good heartedly.

"From one bird to another," James said, but his heart really wasn't in it, so Lily ignored to vulgarity of his words.

"Or in this case," Alice piped, blushing slightly. "From one flower to another." Then she had the nerve to wink at Lily.

Lily fought back to urge to strangle her friend. Luckily the wink had gone unnoticed by the two boys, who were two busy howling with laughter and staring at Alice.

"I hadn't pegged you as the cheeky type Alice," Frank said, causing Alice to blush harder.

Lily smiled as the two broke off into easy conversation. She watched as Alice's shoulder's loosened and her words flowed more evenly.

"I take it this is what you had in mind when you waved Frank over, right?" James whispered into her ear.

Lily shivered as his breath ran down her neck. "I just thought I'd give the two of them a gentle nudge in the right direction," she answered. "Pity I couldn't do the same for you and Poppy. In fact, it was kind of my fault in ways."

James frowned. "And how'd you figure that out?"

Lily blanched. How was she suppose to tell James that the reason Marlene had verbally abused his date was because she was trying to wheedle information out of her about her intentions to appease Lily's over-analytical mind.

"Well I was with Marlene when she spoke to Poppy," Lily said weakly.

She had a suspicion that James knew she wasn't telling the whole truth, but she wasn't sure if she was happy or sad with the fact that he didn't try and pry it out of her. Did that mean he was giving her space? Or that he just didn't care enough to ask?

"That's hardly the spark for a dissolution of a potential relationship Evans," James teased.  
"Anyway, I'm going to head back to the castle. Leave the two love birds to themselves."

Lily glanced over at Alice and Frank and realized she didn't want to be the third wheel.

"Walk me home Evans?" James added, smirking.

Lily rolled her eyes, waved a goodbye to Alice and Frank and joined James outside. He set a brisk pace back to the castle, swinging his arms carelessly by his side. Lily doubted he even realized how fast he was going – fast enough that her every third step turned into a leaping sprint.

"Do you happen to have a slow down button," Lily said, pushing her red curls out of her face.

James shrugged. "Walking is a waste of time."

"Walking has countless benefits, thank you very much."

"The very same benefits as running."

"Without the sweating and sore muscles," Lily pointed out.

"Not if you do it every day," James told her. "Anyway there are spells to stop sweating and if you stretch after, you stop your muscles from cramping up."

"James." Lily could've sworn that the voice came from James' pocket. "James! Oi you scrawny bastard."

"Ummm," Lily mumbled uncertainly.

James pulled a small mirror from his pocket, but instead of catching a glimpse of their faces, Sirius Black stared back.

"Hey Padfoot," James said.

But Sirius only had eyes for Lily now. "Ahh huh, I was wondering who'd kidnapped Prongs. What happened to your other date? What's her name?"

"Poppy," James informed him. "And it didn't work out."

"Other fish in the sea mate," Sirius said, shrugging.

"What about you and Marly?" James asked.

"Ahh yeah – I thought I better get my explanation in first before she badmouths me to the entire school," Sirius started, risking a glance at Lily. "You see, we kind of broke up."

"Kind of?" James repeated.

"All right, so she dumped me. Honestly though, I'm relieved. She was starting to drive me mental."

Lily scowled. "Cousin and best friend right here," she clarified. "So watch it."

Sirius ignored her. "It was just the same argument over and over. And she was always prying into my life. She wouldn't let the other night go – you know the one where you came a fetched me."

James nodded. "Was that really worth breaking up over?"

"She broke up with me," Sirius protested, rising his arms and flashing them the sky and a few overhanging branches.

"Where are you now?" James asked.

"Almost back at school," he replied swiftly. "I'm going to find Moony and force him to entertain me. See you there."

"Wait," Lily shouted, diving forward.

Sirius raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side. "Yes sweetie."

Lily rolled her eyes before asking, "did she seem upset after?"

"She wasn't crying," Sirius told her.

Lily groaned. That was useless since Marlene never cried. "Well what was she like?" Lily pressed. "Did she turn quite on you?"

Sirius pursed his lips. "Not really, I guess she still acted the same. Okay, gotta go."

Lily waved before realizing he'd already vanished. The mirror now just looked like a normal mirror.

"Well today's obviously not couples day," James joked.

Lily thumped him in the arm. "Have some sympathy," she said. "Anyway, it's certainly working for Alice and Frank."

"I'm just a match maker at heart," he told her.

"Yes? And how'd you earn that title?"

"Well for starters I convinced Peter to ask that Ravenclaw out because I thought they'd work well together. Then there was Remus girlfriend in sixth year – Jess someone. Anyway, I organized a small, Gryffindor gathering and invited her along. Then, there was…

"Yeah, yeah I've got it," Lily interrupted. "I should probably go to the Gryffindor tower and find Marley."

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It didn't Lily long to locate Marlene who was spread out on her bed, glaring furiously at the ceiling.

"I can't believe I let myself fall into his stupid trap," Marlene glowered.

"He is quite charming," Lily said. Catching Marlene glare she hastily added, "but it's probably for the better. You deserve way more than Black."

At that, Marlene's glare twisted into a frown. "Hang on?" She muttered. "How do you know about Black and I?"

"Well," Lily started.

"Lily Evans," Marlene smirked, sitting up. "Do tell."

"Okay fine," Lily said. "I had a conversation with James." Marlene rolled her eyes. "One were we didn't argue or tease each other."

"What happened to his date?" Marlene questioned.

Deciding it was probably better to keep Marlene in the dark with that one, Lily shrugged and flopped down beside her best friend. "Any way, Sirius told James about what had happened. He said that you broke it off."

Marlene nodded. "It just wasn't working. He keeps so much stuff from me, not that I want to force him into telling me all his secrets. It's just, well I want something more serious were the guy would feel comfortable in confiding in me. Actually, no he'd want to confide in me."

"And you will Marls," Lily said. "It just wasn't going to be with Sirius."

"I'll be fine Lily," Marlene said, since Lily had adopted her protective glare. "Honestly. If anything, if feels better just being friends. We kissed a couple of times, and it was fun and stuff."

"So you too never went any further?" Lily asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"He wanted to," Marlene giggled. "Trust me, I could tell."

Lily burst out laughing. "Well James fancies himself as a match maker – so maybe he can hook you up with someone."

"Match maker huh?"

"Oh it was adorable Marls," Lily pleaded, clutching her heart and flopping down beside her friend. "We finally got Alice and Frank alone together."

"Oh thank Merlin. Those two are long over due."

"Tell me about it," Lily moaned. "Anyway I'm going to head back to my room. McGonagall's essay is due tomorrow and I haven't started. Those boy's are a bad influence on me."

"Wait, I'll come with. I haven't started either."

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The two girls were sprawled in front of the fireplace, hastily scribbling the last few lines of their essays, when the portrait door swung open with a _thunk._ Then there was a burst of roaring laughter as James tumbled through, red faced and sparkling eyes. In his hand was a rumpled piece of parchment, and slung over his shoulder a tatty looking old cloak. Lily was too busy studying his carefree manner that she barely noticed when Marlene froze up beside her. And she barely noticed when Sirius burst into the room, patting down the smoke – _smoke!_ – that was spiraling from his cloak sleeve.

"Oh!" James burst. Then his eyes fell on Marlene. "Oh," he repeated, this time louder. "Sorry we thought you'd be in bed. It is nearing one in the morning."

"So you thought it best to gallivant as loudly as possible back to your room?" Lily teased.

James shrugged, with a look that clearly read _it's in my nature, you see._ A loud cough from Sirius re-directed his focus.

"Well Prongs, I'm off to bed," he said, forcing an even smile. "See you at breakfast." He offered Lily a cheery wave, and smiled uncertainly at Marlene before leaping back outside.

James dropped onto one of the comfy sofas, groaning slightly. "Sorry Marley. If I'd had know you were –

"It's nothing," Marlene interrupted. "We agreed to still be friends. But we did break up today; I wasn't expecting to see him until at least breakfast. I was just surprised."

Not sure if she fully believed her friends words, Lily simply nodded. "It is getting rather late," she commented instead. "Do you want to stay the night here?"

Marlene shook her head. "It's fine. I should probably just head back to my dorm. Night you too."

The portrait door slammed closed for the second time in the early morning. Since Marlene had moved, Lily could now stretch out her legs and settle herself comfortably on the couch. She rolled her eyes when James transfigured one of the fire pokers into a warm blanket and levitated it over to her.

"I honestly never know what to say when you do stuff like that," she told James truthfully. Tiredness was one of Lily's strongest weaknesses, and it was the early hours of the day where she'd spilled most of her secrets.

James chuckled. "Would it make things worse if I carried you to bed."

"Definitely," Lily grumbled. "And if you try I'll hex your hands to your broom."

"I could think of worse things," he told her. "At least I could play Quidditch all day, that way."

"Mental," she found herself muttering. James' smile spread further across his face. "How about we play a game?" She suggested.

"A game?" James repeated. "It's almost one A.M."

"So?" Lily said, growing excited. Nerves filled her belly as she sat up at little, enough she could properly see the whole of James' face. Fire light flickers across his face, deepening the colour of his eyes and making his hair, if possible, even more ruffled and wild. In that moment Lily couldn't help but realize how attractive he was. Not in a rugged and chiseled type attraction – although he certainly was both of those – but in a warm and soft kind of way. Pushing aside any lingering thoughts, Lily pulled her focus back to the conversation.

"All right, I'm intrigued," James told her.

"It's not an exciting game," Lily explained, realizing that as a marauder his idea of fun was setting up pranks and causing chaos. "In fact, it's not really a game. But seeing as we don't really know much about each other and it's too early for me to bother caring much, I was thinking we could do the question game."

"Ok," James responded simply. "You start."

"Do you have any siblings?" Was Lily's first question. It wasn't the most original, but she reckoned it was safe ground. Unless he responded with the same question. Lily wasn't too sure if this was the wisest game to be playing anymore.

"None," he said. "Unless you count Sirius. He lives with me now, so I guess you call him my brother."

"Why does he live with you?" Lily asked instantly.

James waggled his finger at her. "No, no, no Lils. It's my turn now. I already know you have a sister because of Marley." Lily mentally made a note to have a proper talking to Marlene about the things she told people at breakfast. "But I want to know why you two don't get along."

"That wasn't a proper question," Lily pointed out.

Rolling his eyes, James re-phrased his words so they were in proper question form. A little nervous with confiding in James, Lily began to explain her relationship with Petunia, starting with the day she first got her Hogwarts letter. She left out the parts with Severus, not because she wanted to lie to James but she thought it best to just simply kill one bird with one stone. Besides, she didn't want to overwhelm him with all her issues.

"So basically she just ignores me when I go home over the holidays," Lily concluded.

"That's awful Lily," James said sincerely. "She sounds jealous if you ask me."

Lily shrugged. "Why does Sirius live with you?"

"His family is basically raging psychos. His mother could probably put Voldemort to shame," James put bluntly.

Lily gasped. "You can't talk about someone's mum like that."

"Trust me. It's a miracle that Sirius survived infancy."

"So he ran away or something?"

"Wait your turn Evans," James said winking. "I'm not done with you yet. This one's been bugging me ever since I first met you on the train." Lily gulped nervously at that. "I want to know why you became friends with Snape."

Lily fought back the urge to defend Severus. James and his friends, in Lily's opinion, had always been to fast to judge but after Severus behaviour during fifth year Lily couldn't blame them. Marlene had even pointed out once, that if she hadn't made friends with Snape before Hogwarts, she probably never would've made friends with the prat at all. Her choice of words, not his.

"I knew him before school," Lily started. Catching James' curious expression, she thought it safe to continue. "He caught me performing under age magic to Tuney. And first I thought he was weird and mean since he kept on calling me a witch but he finally convinced me that he was telling the truth and from there I was hooked. It was Hogwarts that changed him."

"It wasn't Hogwarts that did that Lily," James said defensively. "It was his own choices. He could've fought against everything that Slytherin did – some people too – but he didn't and that has nothing to do with Hogwarts, or you for a matter of fact."

Lily was surprised at the weight that lifted off her shoulders because of his words. She hadn't even realized how much it was still bugging her.

"How come Sirius' family are like that?" Lily asked.

"They're big believers in Voldemort," James told her. "The whole lot of them. Aside from one of his cousins and a great uncle, the whole lot of them where the worst types of Slytherins you could expect to meet. I suppose you remember some of them. Bellatrix and Narcissa Black?"

"They were his cousins?" Lily nearly exploded.

James nodded. "When Sirius got sorted into Gryffindor his whole family turned against him. He used to be really close to his brother – just like you and your sister – but you've seen him now."

Lily winced. Guilt instantly swallowed her up. She'd never taken Sirius seriously, not even once and had never even thought that he could have problems similar to hers. Catching her expression, James shook his head.

"You can't beat yourself up Lily," he told her. "That's how he wants it. He doesn't want people's pity, and he especially doesn't want to be associated as a Black."

"It's your turn," Lily whispered. She rubbed exhaustion from her eyes.

"You sure you don't want to go to bed?" James asked.

"Not really," she answered sleepily, growing warm at the smile that made its way across James' face. She'd put that there. It was a weird thought, but it made Lily happy just thinking it.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" she asked.

"Hey, it's my turn," James protested.

Lily shook her head. "You wasted it, already."

"No fair," James grumbled. "That wasn't a proper question."

"And you're ignoring mine."

"Well my answers easy. An auror."

Lily hadn't expected the answer, but now that she heard it she realized just how much it suited him.

"What about you?"

"I used to want to be a florist," she said, yawning. "You know, because of my name. I was going to have one with my sister called Lilies and Petunias."

"All right," James said, standing up. "I think it's bed time. C'mon."

"You're not carrying me," Lily retorted, clambering to her own feet.

"Wouldn't dream of it," James breathed, his words washing over Lily's face.

She hadn't noticed how close they were standing, almost toe-to-toe. "Well night James," she whispered.

He reached over a tucked a loose strand of curly red hair behind her ear. "Night Evans," he said cheerfully before striding over to the staircase.


	8. Plans, practice and patrols

**JAMES POV**

"Can't," Sirius grumbled. "I've got detention tonight."

James watched as his mate stabbed two fried eggs with his fork and attempted to shove them into his mouth. It was a Monday morning – exactly two weeks after his early morning conversation with Lily. He wasn't sure what it had meant but he knew he'd been two seconds away from kissing her, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. Not that kissing Lily Evans hadn't been a dream of his since fifth year, but now that he'd actually gotten to know her better and become friends with her he didn't want to ruin what they already had.

Being friends with her was better than what they had last year. He'd rather keep that, then go back to having her as enemies. Merlin, if Remus heard these thoughts he'd have thought James had gone mental. It hadn't changed how the spoke to each other – much to James' relief – but he was now a lot more self-conscious of himself around her. He made sure not to accidentally brush hands or jokingly punch her in the corridors between classes. And he was sure Lily had noticed, since she was acting more careful around him as well.

"What for?" Peter retorted, waving his fork and a whole sausage at Sirius.

"Something I said in Muggle Studies the other day," Sirius told him. "Was bang out of order, but I managed to scrape a week's worth of detentions into two hours of scrubbing the trophies simply with my charm."

"And I suppose it helps that you believe that the entire female staff body has a crush on you," Remus said sarcastically.

"I said they lust after me," Sirius said, shoving back his messy hair. "But who wouldn't."

It'd also been two weeks since Sirius broke up with his girlfriend of four months, Marlene. James didn't think he'd been with anyone else since, but he'd certainly thrown himself back into the game. In fact, he'd been flirting with any female in sight so vigorously and passionately that James suspected it had less to do with his hurt over Marlene dumping him, and more to do with his family.

"You might want to tone the flirting down," James suggested. "I think you're actually frightening Lily a little. And Marlene – well she's kind of hating on you right now."

"She broke up with me," Sirius protested.

"Yeah because you wouldn't tell her about the cause of all this extravagant flirting," James said, waving his hand vigorously at James.

That caught the attention of Remus and Peter instantly. Both boys ignored their food, and turned to look at Sirius. The boy in question quite physically glared daggers at his best friend.

"I always flirt with the birds," Sirius put rudely.

"No you're scaring all these _birds_ away with your force," James said. "Whatever problems you're facing you should let them out on us instead of some helpless fifth year."

"At least I get my mind off things," Sirius snapped. "When I rant to you lot I just end up feeling worse since you struggle with trying to help. There's nothing you can do so there's no point unloading my problems onto you."

"That's bullshit," Remus intercepted. His voice was quite, but firm.

"What else is going on?" James pressed. He had a feeling there was more to this than just the issue over Alphard's will.

"Nothing," Sirius exploded. "Now will you just lay off me?"

Sirius' outburst had attracted a few curious glances, but most turned their heads away instantly once they realized who'd been shouting. James waited for his friend to continue, but Sirius had turned a stony silence. Deciding it was less risky to let Sirius simmer, James returned to his breakfast. After a few minutes of tense silence, Sirius clambered angrily to his feet.

"I'll see you lot in class," he growled. "I need to grab some books from the common room first."

Oblivious to this temper, Peter rapidly jumped to his feet. James tried to wave him down, but the boy was already chasing after Sirius, declaring that he too needed to fetch some books before Charms. To Remus' and James' surprise, Sirius let him follow.

"Well that doesn't look good," James declared as the two vanished into the corridor.

"You got the map?" Remus suggested.

"No, but Wormtail will keep him in line," James said. His glance drifted lazily down the table, the tension in his shoulders evaporating as he let the cheerful noise of the unknowing Gryffindor's engulf him. He did a double take – barely registering Remus' doubtful snort – as he noticed one glance staring right back at him.

Lily Evans was watching him curiously, drowning out the conversation of Marlene and Alice opposite her. James recognized the look instantly and found his nerves leaping into his throat. It was the stare she adopted when she was trying to perfect a particularly hard potion or master a difficult spell in Charms. It was a look of stone hard determination and it was pointed right at him.

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"You know it's October already and I haven't scheduled a Quidditch practice yet," James whined to Remus as the two boys wandered to charms.

"You've been busy," Remus replied. "You have patrols every night, then classes during the day and homework during the afternoon. It's a wonder you're still functioning."

James decided to ignore Remus since he wasn't helping in the slightest. "I was thinking of holding one this afternoon actually."

"I'm not doing your patrols for you if that's what you want," Remus interjected.

James groaned in frustration. "It's a good thing that I'm still operational off only five hours sleep a night."

"Maybe if you went to bed on time and stopped sneaking around the castle with Padfoot you'd been fine," Remus told him.

The two boys reached the entrance to Flitwicks classroom two minutes after they were supposed to. But since it was only half full inside, he didn't seem to mind. James and Remus took their usual spots at the back of the room, both subconsciously glancing over at Sirius' empty chair.

"You don't think we should've followed him," Remus asked.

James shook his head. "He's got Pete."

Remus looked as if he was about to remind James of the stubbornness of Sirius but was interrupted by a certain red haired seventh year who took the empty seat beside James. It got even weirder when Marlene threw herself into Peter's usual seat next to Remus.

"Err hey," Remus said.

"Hey," Lily said cheerfully.

James' grew even more confused when she focused her dazzling smile on him. Flitwick started talking, unperturbed by his two missing students. He was going on about something to do with Aguamenti spell, and seemed oblivious to the obvious conversation that was taking place in the back of his room.

"Lily has a plan," Marlene said chirpily, rubbing her hands together.

"What do you want?" James asked skeptical, narrowing his eyes on his cousin.

Marlene dropped the exaggerated smile, though the glint in her eyes remained. "To borrow your common room for small gathering this Saturday night."

"Am I invited?" James prompted.

"Well duh," Marlene said shrugging. "We need you to bring the boys. And Frank, you know for Alice. And since it might be slightly obvious if you just invite one Hufflepuff, maybe invite his friend – what's his name, Alfred Davy."

James nodded eagerly. He'd actually been thinking about doing something similar, since it seemed a waste not to utilize his very own common room but had held back because of Lily. He doubted she'd approve of unauthorized, late night parties. Unless it wasn't really a party as such…

"Hang on," James said, frowning. "If it's us six guys who are you bringing? A two to one ratio is just dull."

"Oh," Marlene said, her face dropping. "Well I guess we can ask Mary and Poppy."

"Well if we're making the numbers even, what about Lucy Abbott?" Remus suggested, blushing slightly.

James grinning. Lucy Abbott was a pretty looking Hufflepuff seventh year, and was usually seen hanging around with Frank and Alfred, which would make it less weird if they invited her along. It also helped what with Remus having a crush on her and everything.

"I can ask her," Lily offered. "We did a potions project together last year. She's awfully nice."

"Well it's sorted then," Marlene said, dusting her hands off. "Eight pm, Head Students quarters. See you there."

James exasperatedly grabbed Marlene coat sleeve to prevent his cousin from standing up. "Don't get up you idiot, we're still in class."

"Oh right," Marlene said sheepishly. "Any clue to what we're learning."

Lily nodded. She pointed her wand at the line of goblets across her and James' table and muttered, "aguamenti." A stream of clear water burst from her wand and gracefully filled the goblet before her.

"How do you do that?" Marlene demanded.

"Well it's actually quite simple," Lily started, looking confused at the roughness of her friend's voice. "You wave your wand in a kinda "s" shape –

"No, no, no," Marlene interrupted. "Talk to us _and_ listen in class at the same time."

"Oh," Lily said, laughing. "I can't help but listen in class. It's a habit now."

Marlene looked as if she was about to retort about the unfairness of her "habit," but Remus quickly intercepted by frantically waving his quill at her and pointing out the slowly approaching Professor Flitwick. James snorted as Marlene hurriedly tried to successfully complete the same spell, only to have a jet of water spray sprinkler-like over the entire classroom.

"Thank you for that display Miss McKinnon," Flitwick called, over James' enthusiastic laughter. "Next time keep your movements more subtle."

Marlene sent James the stink eye, before glaring back at her goblet. The charm wasn't too difficult, and by the end of the lesson all four Gryffindor's had perfected it. The four of them then made their way down to Potions, running into both Alice and Peter who'd just finished Care of Magical Creatures.

"Where's Padfoot?" James asked Peter, pulling him aside from the girls.

"I left him in the dorm," Peter said. Catching James' pointed expression, he rolled his eyes and added, "I took the map as well. Been checking every twenty minutes or so. He's still there."

"Can I check it?" James asked.

Looking slightly hurt at James' sign of distrust, Peter handed the map to his friend. It wasn't that James didn't trust Peter, in fact as soon as he had the map open he didn't even bother checking the Gryffindor tower for Sirius. Peter cocked his head as James started scanning random corridors. Since it was between classes most of the main corridors were too crowded to make sense of, but James managed to locate his dot regardless.

"What are you looking for?" Peter asked curiously.

"Regulus," James admitted, pointed at Sirius' brother's label. "I wanted to check who he was with and look – Snape, Mulciber and Avery, not really the average company of a fifth year."

"But who cares where they are," Peter pointed out. "It's not like they can do much in a crowded corridor."

"Think about it," James said. "We only get about five minutes between classes, and since Regulus is two years below those grease balls, he'd have had to purposefully seek them out in order to be with them. Which means they probably agreed to meet somewhere. But that seems unlikely considering there isn't much you can achieve in five minutes. I reckon they've managed to coordinate frees together."

"To do what but?" Peter asked, looking both puzzled and intrigued.

James shrugged. "Beats me. But I don't think Dumbledore scheduled Lily and I for patrols every night for nothing. Doing stuff during the day makes perfect sense really, since we're all in class and the teachers are teaching."

"Where are you going with this Prongs," Peter said. "I mean, I get that you think they're probably up to something but you sound like you're about to do something about it."

The Gryffindor group had just reached the entrance to the Potions classroom. Remus was eyeing them curiously, but was clever enough to keep the girls diverted from their conversation. James silently muttered the spell to clear the map, before turning back to Peter. The smaller boy looked torn between excitement and dread. James knew that off the four of them, Peter was the less brave. But he still never complained, and accompanied them anyway. To Peter, bravery was a choice and James admired that in him.

"We're going to keep tabs of them," James muttered. "Record who they're hanging out with. The places they congregate. And we're going to use my Dad's cloak to stalk them."

"All right," Peter muttered nervously.

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The rest of the day passed uneventfully. James' managed to polish off most of his pressing work – well those essays that were due tomorrow – in his frees, allowing him to schedule a short Quidditch practice for after dinner. Although it was such late notice, most of the team were just excited to start, and as their seeker, Alice, had pointed out – _about bloody time captain!_

James trudged down to the Quidditch pitch with Alice and Marlene, who'd been on the team just as long as James as the Gryffindor beater.

"Okay Marls," James started as they neared the pitch. "I want you to just focus on our new beater Thomas. Teach him some of our plays and try and perfect his techniques. He's not you're level yet, but with a bit of training I reckon he'll do us well."

"Aye, aye captain," Marlene said, saluting James.

James just rolled his eyes. The three seventh years made their way over to the already kitted Gryffindor team. Their keeper Benjy Boot (sixth year) was slouched off to the side, kicking his broom against his shin. Then there we're the two fifth years who played chaser and beater respectively – Jack Robin and Thomas McPharlan – both who were heatedly discussing different plays they'd seen during the World Cup last season. Lastly was their youngest member, third year Holly Balderstone, who had caught James' eye when she'd made some pretty spectacular passes and catches. All in all, James had high hopes for this years season.

"Hey team," he said energetically. "We're going to get straight into it since we only have two hours. Marlene, you know what I want you to do. We're going to be focusing on improving technique before I start teaching the newbie's strategies. Chasers I want you up in the air trying to score against Boot."

He watched as the team grabbed their brooms, as Jack grabbed a dented Quaffle, as Marlene and Thomas grabbed their beaters bats, and as they made for the sky, leaving him with Alice. The energetic Gryffindor was bouncing on the balls of her feet as James produced a bag of golf balls from his kit.

"How's things going with Frank?" he asked, pulling out four balls.

He'd transfigured them to roughly the same size and colour as the snitch. He'd also cast a difficult charm spell to make them fly and move in a similar fashion. Really, the only difference was that he could magic them to him on demand.

Alice blushed. "Oh, um it's good I suppose. I mostly just see him at meals and some classes."

"Lily and I are throwing a small party in our common room on Saturday," James told her, grinning. "We're inviting Frank."

"Really?" Alice said, her voice pitching. Noticing her mistake, she quickly smoothed out her uniform before adopting a neutral expression. "Oh that's nice. But won't it be weird if you only invite one Hufflepuff?"

"We're invited Alfred and Lucy too," James explained.

"Well I can't wait."

James rolled his eyes at Alice's aloof behaviour. From the way Marlene explained Alice's infatuation, he'd expected her to be gushing, which made James believe that there already was more going on between them than she was willing to admit.

"All right," James said. "I'm going to release all four of these. You're not allowed to leave until you've caught all of them." With that he threw the fake snitches into the sky.

"What?" Alice blanched. "I could be here all night."

"Well then what are you waiting for?"

He laughed as Alice gave him the stink eye before darted after them. Having four snitches in the air was not only tiring, but also confusing. He'd been impressed if she managed to catch all four in two hours.

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James rushed back to his common room, after waving goodbye to Alice and Marlene. He was already five minutes late for patrols and he still had to change back into his robe. Lily wasn't going to be impressed with his lateness, and was therefore pleasantly surprised to find her waiting for him – his cloak in hand – by the portrait door.

"Hey Lily," he said. "Sorry I'm late, let me just dump my broom inside."

She nodded, moving aside to let him through. He hurriedly dumped his broom against one of the sofas before joining her outside. He slipped into his cloak, biting back the urge to complain about his sweatiness and his need for a shower since that was his own fault. Then he mentally reminded himself to tell Remus that he had finally managed to apply a filter between his thoughts and words.

"Do you want to keep playing our game?" Lily suggested.

James felt his insides take a wild leap. To him, the game meant a few things. One, it meant that Lily was actually interested in his life and family. Two, it meant that she was still willing to open up to him about her life. And three, it meant that she cared enough to ask questions and listen to his answers. It didn't seem like much, but to James it meant the world.

"Sure. I think it's your turn," he said, trying to keep his voice neutral but warming instantly at the smile that spread across her face at the eagerness that leaked from his words regardless.

"What are your parents names?" She asked.

James laughed, but then realized that she was being serious. Parent's names fell into the category of neutral to him – as in the question meant nothing. Anyone could tell Lily his parent's names. With the growing sense that Lily was now going to play safely, James' initial ideas for questions vanished.

"Robert and Dorea," he told her.

She looked satisfied at that for reasons James' couldn't comprehend. Struggling to think of something simple, James asked, "what's your favourite colour?"

Blinking, Lily instantly replied with, "Yellow. Why'd you name your owl Ellie?"

James blanched. He instantly regretted his question; Lily obviously wasn't playing it safe at all. From the glint in her eyes, he had a feeling she already knew the answer. He weighed up his options. He could take a risk and tell her the truth, despite how embarrassing it was. Or he could lie. But if she knew the answer, lying was probably a bad idea if he wanted her to trust him.

"Oh Merlin," James groaned. "Fine. Mum got her as a present at the beginning of fifth year, which also happened to be the same time I got a massive crush on you." Catching her blush with embarrassment, instead of anger, gave James the strength he needed to finish. "Anyway it's the sound of your initials when said aloud."

At that, Lily's mouth opened slightly and James caught her surprise. So she hadn't known the answer then.

"I just thought it was a weird name for an owl," Lily muttered. "Marlene told me the story behind her name was hilarious."

The words, unknowingly to Lily, stung a little and James found himself frowning. Trying to brush of his dejection, he pulled his expression together and turned his focus back to the game.

"Who and when was your first kiss?" He demanded, maybe a little to loudly.

Lily snapped out of her stupor at James tone. Her face softened slightly, and James figured that he still looked like a kicked puppy.

"Oh god," Lily moaned, shaking her head. Whilst Lily mustered the courage to answer, James made a second mental note to tell his cousin off for humiliating him before Lily. Sometimes he wondered how he even put up with her. "Do you really have to know?"

James nodded firmly. "I answered mine."

"Fine. But you can't get angry. I made him swear not to tell you," Lily told him.

James grew more and more curious. "What? Why?"

"Well because it was Remus," Lily admitted in a small voice. Before James had time to take that in, Lily piped up again. "It was nothing. It was during fifth year and I'd never kissed someone before, so I got really drunk at one of your Marauder parties and well I knew Remus well then because we did patrols together and well, I kinda just grabbed him and yeah. It only lasted five seconds before he pulled away."

To his own surprise, James burst out laughing. He could just picture Remus' horrified face at the thought of explaining to James that he'd taken Lily's first kiss. And then his relief when Lily forced him to keep it a secret. In all honestly, he was glad he only found out know. He was such a prat back then, who knows how he'd have treated Remus.

"Why'd you ask him to keep it a secret?" James asked, still grinning.

Seeming to realize that James wasn't angry at his friend, Lily ignored the fact that it was her turn to ask the question. "I didn't want you thumping him because of me. And besides, it didn't mean anything. I never liked Remus liked that – even back then – and he's the same. If anything, I just see him as a brother or something."

A sense of relief filled James without his consent. C'mon, he was a boy. He couldn't help how he felt. The game continued for another hour from then on with James and Lily covering more and more wilder topics.

"What's the funniest prank you've pulled?"

"Oh Merlin, probably that time we enchanted the corridors into bouncy castles… oh, no, no wait maybe that one time we turned the prefect bathroom into a wild pool party – or even, hang on, that time we…" Lily had to stop him after a while.

Back and forth they went till James was convinced he knew every detail about Lily's family – down to her father's favourite breakfast food. Bacon off course. By the time they returned to their cozy common room, it was James turn.

"Are you bored of me yet?" He asked, expecting a mock answer.

"You're probably one of the most interesting people I've meet actually," Lily said, the word seeming to spill from her lips.

James blushed. Interesting didn't mean _grab me and snog me senselessly_ he had to remind himself. But it sure was a start.

"Same to you Evans," he said, before clambering the stairs to his room.


	9. How about we do nothing James?

**Readers I need your help. I need some advice as to where to take this story – what do YOU want to see happening? All the help is appreciated.**

I haven't done this yet but shout out to my wonderful reviewers so far –

SoccerDiva: thanks so much for all the support, hope you're still reading

Jilyforeva: I'm glad that your enjoying the story, sorry about the grammar errors I do try and proof read but –as you can tell – I'm not very good at it haha

And the anonymous reviewers: come off anon!

Thanks all from me now, enjoy the next chapter! :)))

 **LILY POV**

Lily could barely hide her excitement when Saturday morning finally bloomed. The week had passed so uneventfully, that it just seemed so fitting that they finally had plans. Most of Lily's free time had gone into either thinking about or planning her and Marlene's gathering. They still didn't know where the kitchens were hidden so they we're relying on the Marauders to supply food and drink, but the rest was all them.

She hurriedly clambered out of bed, pulling her messy hair back into a knotty ponytail. Not bothering to change into casual clothes, she slipped her feet into a pair of cozy ugg boots and made her way downstairs. A couple of weeks ago James had down a run down to the kitchens and got enough food to properly stock their small kitchenette. Ever since then, the House Elves had started doing it for them.

Lily had always felt a little guilty about the way they spoilt the students, but Marlene had convinced her during fourth year that preventing them from spoiling us would technically be even crueler in their eyes. Despite that, Lily couldn't help feel bad as she pulled out a loaf of fresh bread and stuck two pieces into the toaster. Then she busied her mind with organizing a cup of tea.

Saturday mornings had become her lazy mornings. When her breakfast was done she settled herself near the fireplace and opened her book. A clock near her chimed seven times the mark the hour. As if on queue the portrait door swung open to reveal a disheveled and muddy James, his broom hefted carelessly on his shoulder. He grinned cheerfully when he noticed her on the sofa.

"Morning Evans," he said, dumping his broom by the door.

Somewhere during the past week they'd started using each other's last nights as almost affectionately. She wasn't sure if that was the right word, but he was the only person her called her Evans in that tone, and she couldn't help but form some kind of connection between them because of it. The idea was mental. Her and James didn't have a connection.

But then again, whom was she kidding? They'd had some sort of connection ever since the first day on the train. Teasing and joking had molded into frustration and annoyance, which had taken a steep dive into hatred at the end of fifth year to only drive bumpily into ignoring each other by the middle of sixth year. The start of seventh year saw them jumping sharply into a weird friendship. And now she couldn't help by realize that there ship was sailing into unmarked territories.

Whatever she felt for James Potter was more than friendship. It felt immensely different to what she had with Remus. Each second with James was exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. She could count on him for spontaneity and – well as long as she was admitting these things to herself – a definite _spark._

"Ahh Lily?" James continued. "The answer is usually _morning_ or even _hey."_

Startled from her realization Lily nearly dumped the content of her tea everywhere. She glanced up at James.

"Sorry – day dreaming," she told him. "How was practice?"

James shrugged. "Good enough to scrape a win against Ravenclaw, maybe."

"So really good then?" She replied, uncertainly.

The rules she understood – to a very basic extent. And the excitement she understood. But any talk about teams and strategies and broom types just became lost to her. Alice and Marlene were both avid players and were constantly trying to "teach" Lily but she always drew the line when they offered to show her how to properly brush the bristles on her broom or something similar.

James snorted. "Ravenclaw has got a crappy team this year. They had to get in five new players, and although they have potential our team at least has experience in old strategies and plays," he informed her. His eyes seemed to shine – if possible – even brighter as he spoke.

"Ahh, of course," Lily said sarcastically.

Noticing her tone, James grinned sheepishly. "Not a huge Quidditch fan then?"

Lily half shrugged. "I like watching the games," she said.

"You're like Remus and Peter," he said. "They both can't stand it when I start talking Quidditch. Once Peter put a silencing charm on me."

At the idea of a mute James, Lily laughed brightly. It was moments like these – when James became so lost in just being himself – that she forgot why she ever hated him in the first place. It wasn't that he was a different person around his friends, or any of the Hogwarts population for that matter, it's just he seemed more relaxed. _Or maybe,_ a nagging voice in her head muttered, _he's just most comfortable around you now you've stopped firing detentions at him._ Every time she thought about the old Lily and James she instantly felt guilty.

He hadn't been perfect. But neither had she.

"I'm going to go shower," James declared suddenly. "I take it you're not going to breakfast." He pointed at her half eaten toast. Now that it was cold and soggy it wasn't nearly as appetizing as she'd hoped.

"I could do with some eggs," she said.

James beamed. "Wait for me?"

"Ten minutes Potter," she told him.

Mock saluting her, he disappeared upstairs, the sound of his feet echoing through their cozy common room. She could hear their bathroom door slam and the groan of pipes as James turned on the shower. _He was probably nude right now,_ Lily thought.

Lily froze, knocking the toast off its plate. Had she really just thought that? James Potter was showering naked in _their_ bathroom. Why hadn't that thought come to her before? She was sharing a bathroom with a boy. She basically shared living quarters with a boy. If her Mum and Dad knew they'd been astounded. Sure she'd written letters, but for some reason her new room hadn't come up. If she told her parents that she now shared a bathroom and common room with James they'd probably flip. She could almost hear her Mum's voice. _Isn't that the boy that charmed all the suits of armours to sing love songs at you? I don't trust him and his intentions._

Chuckling to herself, Lily grabbed a spare piece of parchment and decided to write a quite letter to her parents.

 _Hey Mum and Dad,_

 _School is going well. Even though it's NEWTS year I'm still having fun. The girls and I are hosting a small gathering (nothing too wild, don't worry mum) tonight in the Heads common room. I'll explain that in a bit. I got an 'O' in my Transfiguration essay. I know, what happened. Actually I've been getting some random tutoring from James Potter. Yeah, yeah, I'll explain that in a bit too._

 _Alice has taken on embroidery so if you want a new pillow design or something just ask me. Marlene is still being eccentric. She broke up with her boyfriend Sirius, but no one really expected the relationship to be forever lasting. I don't think he's ever been in a relationship with a girl for over four months before (Marlene broke his three week record!). Who else do you want to hear about? Oh yeah, Remus is still a prefect so I've done some patrols with him every now and again to give James a break. We finally got Alice and Frank talking – long over due! It's mainly the reason for tonight's party._

 _Anyway, I'm actually written because I can't believe I forgot to tell you about my new room. I know! The Head Girl and Boy share their very own common room and we get bigger and better bedrooms! I know what you're thinking mum – sharing with a boy? But don't worry – as I told you before, James has matured beyond years._

 _So, how's home? Do you still read the Daily Prophet? I guess, if you have, you've noticed all the new attacks by unidentified magical people. I don't want to alarm you in such an impersonal way so I'll explain what I know (which really isn't much) when I see you for Christmas!_

 _I better go get some breakfast. I'm sending this with James owl – Ellie – who's very well tempered unlike her namesake. Maybe I'll explain that one over Christmas._

 _Love yours,_

 _Lily xxx_

Lily folded the letter at the same time James thumped loudly down the stairs, his black hair glistening. They made their way to breakfast together, James happily chatting about anything and everything that came to his mind. Once Lily had found the habit annoying, but now she found it simply took her mind off others things and for those short seven minutes to the Great Hall, Lily was immensely thankful that she'd finally taken Marlene's advice to heart.

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"How on earth did they manage to convince the House Elves to give them Fire whiskey," Marlene said loudly, shaking her head at the bottles of alcohol lined up in James and Lily's small fridge.

Lily snorted. "I want to know how they managed to find Muggle alcohol," she said, pointing her finger at the two bottles of Vodka. "That stuff's deadly."

Marlene squinted at it. "I vaguely remember my brothers spiking my drink with it. Or maybe it was rum. Muggles certainly have a wider variety of drinks!"

"Arggh," Lily moaned, throwing her hands up. "Finally someone admits it. I've been craving a cappuccino since the beginning of third year."

"Yeah, yeah," Marlene said, waving her off. "Don't go Muggle on me."

Lily threw herself down on the nearest sofa, satisfied with their handiwork. They'd sound proofed all their walls to prevent any staff members from shutting them down. Marlene had transfigured some of Lily's older textbooks into extra chairs and had artistically placed them around the room is small clusters. The lights had been dimmed. The food and drinks all organized. The music was ready to go. All in all, Lily had high prospects for the night. Then why was she stressing so much?

A groan from Marlene caught her attention. "I should probably go change," her friend said, heading for the door. "We told everyone eight right?"

Lily checked it watch. It had just gone seven thirty. It wasn't the time that caused Lily's heart to bang louder however.

"You can't leave me," she blanched.

Marlene blinked. "I'll be back soon. Thirty minutes soon to be precise."

"But if you go it'll be just me and then – well then, umm…" decieding it was less painful to just wave Marlene off, Lily forced a non-committed smile. "Don't worry. Just stressing over what to wear."

With a hesitant grin Marlene left. Lily marched herself into her room and pulled open her closest. She had never been one of those girls who dressed up to impress some other boy, but she couldn't help admitting that feeling good in your outfit helped immensely with confidence. And for some reason the nerves were killing her.

A bang from downstairs alerted her of James' return – and by the sound of it one of the marauders. Her traitorous heart picked up it's frantic pace.

"Lily?" James' voiced drifted up from the common room. For one wild second Lily thought he'd heard her heart beat but then common sense kicked in.

She coughed lightly before calling back, "I'm here. Just getting dressed."

"What do you want to drink?" He shouted. Then softer, and obviously not for her ears she heard him mutter, "what even are these Muggle drinks? I just thought she'd might like them."

The laughter that followed his comment was instantly recognizable as Remus'. Only Remus could make laughing sound like a warm smile.

"Uhh," Lily said. "Can you mix some of the vodka with soda please?" The words sounded so forced and narrow that she instantly winced. _This is Potter, s_ he reminded herself. Ignoring her wild heart beat she quickly added, "and don't be stupid with it Potter."

His light chuckle soothed her panic attack down to a more socially acceptable level. She quickly threw on a simply outfit – fitted, long sleeve top and a black, denim skirt – before running a brush through her hair. _Up or down?_ She tried pulling it up into a messy bun, then a loose pony tail – then even tried two tight braids but nothing was working. She shook it loose for the hair tie and flicked it over her shoulder. Noticing the time – Marlene would be back in minutes – she hurriedly scrambled through her make up bag.

Foundation. Minimal bronzer. She laughed at the blush before remembering she was by herself. Some gold eye shadow and mascara. Her finishing touch was some shiny lip gloss. Once done, she tucked her wand into her pocket and made for the common room.

James and Remus were sitting on one of the couches – their backs to her.

"Hey," she said, ignoring the obvious hitch in her voice.

She was going to ignore her nerves – Merlin knows why they were here – even if they threatened to explode from her body. James swiveled around instantly, a broad grin across his face. He got to his feet, her drink in his outstretched hand. She took it, nervously sipping from the pink straw he'd added.

"Place looks good," Remus commented, when he realized none of them were about to speak.

He cast his eyes between them, his brows furrowing. Lily instantly blanched, her mind going into a whirlwind. If someone was going to catch onto her nervousness it was going to be Remus. The boy would probably noticed if someone moved his bed a little to the right.

"Thanks," Lily said expressionlessly.

 _Urgggh,_ she thought. Suddenly everything was tense and strained. It was her doing, that much she knew, but she just couldn't shake the nerves. Luckily for everyone in the room the portrait door slammed open revealing a laughing Marlene, a red faced Alice and two startled looking Marauders. Sirius sent James a these-girls-are-mental look before making his way to the drink table. Peter, on the other hand, greeted Lily and the others. Lily couldn't help but think that Peter looked nicer than usual tonight.

After another twenty minutes of small talk and more curious glances passed around about the tension between Lily and James everyone had arrived – Mary MacDonald bringing up the rear apologized frantically about her lateness. Apparently a Head's Party wasn't a solid excuse for getting out of detention early.

The three Hufflepuffs – Frank, Alfred and Lucy – arrived together looking slightly out of place and wondering why they'd been invited in the first place. Lucy instantly struck up a conversation with Lily. So far, their main source of entertainment had been the brief interaction between Poppy and James. Lily could only say trust straight-forward and blunt Poppy to evaporate all awkwardness between them.

"Marauders," she'd cried, banging through the portrait door. For a solo entrance it was certainly bold. "Dorm mates minus one. I've brought cards for drinking games."

James stood up and cheered at that. "Drinks to Poppy."

Poppy grinned and bowed. "We could've gone long ways Potter, you and I."

"Pity our hearts our both set on different people," James crooned, pretending to clutch his heart. That was news to Lily's ears – Poppy was already in love with someone else. Was he in this room with her? Was that the reason she'd come?

"That does complicate things," Poppy said, and then gracefully made her way to join Sirius at the drink table.

Remus eyed her carefully and Lily could tell that he was wondering the same thing. She took another sip of her drink, wincing slightly at the rancid taste of vodka. James had certainly over doused her drink – she was guessing it contained maybe three standard drinks – but figured he'd just been confused. Deciding that it couldn't hurt anyone if she loosened up a little, she finished it off in one go.

 **JAMES POV**

Poppy spread the pack of cards around a transfigured plastic cup – facing downwards – so that the cup was fully circled. James eyed the cards warily. When they were younger him and the marauders used to play drinking games in their dorm room using some of James' father's "borrowed" firewhiskey – 0ften enough that he knew each Marauder's limits.

Remus was a blatant lightweight. Two cups and he was usually very obviously drunk. Five cups and he was out like a light. Peter was probably the stubbornest of the group when it came to alcohol, so much that with him they usually altered his rules. If he had to drink, they'd double his glass. Then there was Sirius. Remus always referred to him as a deadly drunk. He'd drink consistently for an hour or so and it wouldn't hit him at all until another three hours had passed.

"We're playing King's Cup," Poppy declared. "But the girls and I have our very own rule sheet."

James caught Lily blushing as Poppy pulled a crumpled piece of parchment from her pocket. He suspected that maybe the girls had done the same thing.

"Oh no," Marlene groaned, also blushing slightly. "I thought you were joking. We made those rules as jokes."

That piqued James' interest.

"I wanna hear these rules," Sirius whined.

"It's a mix between a drinking game, strip poker and truth or dare," Poppy said grinning. Noticing the blank stares of most she added somewhat cheekily, "just be happy we drew the line at spin the bottle."

"Youngest starts," Sirius demanded. He had an eager grin across his face.

The youngest turned out to be Alice. Fuming slightly at the injustice she picked up the first card and flipped it over. "It's a three," she muttered.

Poppy consulted the rule sheet quickly. "It's a truth and dare one. You can ask anyone."

"How are we going to know if people are telling the truth or not?" Sirius interjected.

"It's called trust Black," Lily told him, looking indignant. "If you're planning on spiking our drinks with Veriterserum then you're strongly mistaken."

"All right, all right," Sirius said, still grinning lopsidedly. "Got it. Ball's at your feet Al."

Alice scanned the circle. James could see the clogs running in her head. He realized instantly that this game could turn a dangerous corner. There were tensions and secrets between this group he'd rather not reveal over a drunken game of King's Cup. Then she clocked eyes with him.

"James," she said. "Truth or dare?"

Not trusting the glint in her eyes he opted for the safer option. "Dare."

"I dare you to tell everyone why you named your owl Ellie," Alice said, cocking her head.

James froze. He glanced at Lily, trying to figure out why she'd told her friend such an embarrassing secret. Lily looked just as confused, which filtered out his anger instantly. Not wanting to prolong the discomfiture James launched fully into the story, sending Marlene the stink eye when she burst out into raucous laughter.

"We did not give you enough crap for that name," Peter said, clutching his sides.

"Drink up James," Poppy added.

Frowning at his mates, James downed his drink. He then picked up the next card. "A seven," he told Poppy.

Poppy and Marlene burst out laughing. "Remove an item of clothing Jamesy," Marlene said. "And shoes and socks don't count," she added when James had gone to untie his laces.

James growled as he pulled his shirt off his head. Somehow this game was affecting him most. He balled his shirt in a fist and threw it at Marlene's head. A few wolf whistles spread around the room, mostly initiated by Sirius and Peter. He sent Lily a curious glance and faltered when he noticed her blush. She quickly drew her eyes away before selecting a card. _Maybe this wasn't the worst game in the world,_ he thought to himself.

"Eight," Lily declared.

"You've got three truths," Poppy told her. "Use them wisely."

Lily looked affronted. James could almost hear the worry radiating off her. He leaned in close, careful not to brush his bare skin against her, and muttered something in her ear. Lily shook her head, shoving James away.

"C'mon Lils," Sirius complained. "It's just a game. No one's going to be offended."

"It's silly," she said. James couldn't miss the anger seeping into her voice. "Why embarrass someone when I don't have too."

"Oh come off it," Sirius said loudly. "Don't be a prude."

James sent his mate an angry glare.

"Prude?" Lily repeated. "Is that what you think of me Black?"

"Everyone thinks it," Sirius said, his words slurring.

Marlene's eye narrowed toward her ex. "So what if she's a prude," she said. "It's better than the rumors about you."

"Ahh guys," Alice tried to interrupt. "We've had a bit too much to drink –

"Let me get this off my chest," Marlene continued, pretending to have not heard Alice. "You Black are an animal. Jumping on girls any chance you get and then bragging about your _conquests_ the next morning. It's disgusting."

Sirius scoffed. James wasn't sure whether to stop Marlene or not. Some of her words rung with the truth – Sirius had thrown himself more vigourously into flirting with other girls to get over Marlene, but what she didn't know was that he hadn't done anything with them. He glanced around the room, catching Lily's look of bewilderment and Remus' gaze of horror.

"You," Sirius spluttered. "You think I've been off _gallivanting_ with other birds?" His voice rose scarily. "That's what you think of me."

"Oh don't pretend like you're better than that," Marlene countered. "You've always been an immature berk."

James was worried his friend might say something he'd regret, but to his immense surprise Sirius rose to his feet and marched towards the portrait door. Before he vanished into the corridor he spun on his feet and glared daggers at the room. "You know what McKinnon?" He said.

"What Black? What have you got left to say?"

"You're wrong." And with that he slammed the door.

James was intent on rounding on his cousin – Sirius was his best mate after all – but Marlene was already shaking her head at him. "Don't say a word," she hissed. "I think I better head to bed."

"Wait – we're coming," Mary said, leaping to her feet. Poppy followed cautiously behind her.

Lily rose to her feet, following her friends to the door. James watched her mutter something to Marlene, her shoulders stiff.

"It isn't your fault Lils," he heard Marlene say.

She shrugged before waving goodbye to her three friends. James felt guilt well up in his throat as she made her way over to the sofa and tucked her feet under her legs.

"Well," Frank started, looking uncertain. "That was –

"Bigger than usual," Peter concluded. "You think they'll sort things out?"

"I thought they were fine," Remus commented. "They acted normal on the way over here."

"He could've had a little more sympathy for her feelings," Alice piped, defending her friend. "I mean, he just went from her to someone else –

"He didn't," James said venomously. "He hasn't gotten with anything since her."

That seemed to pique Lily's interest. She glanced over at James. "Then why didn't he say so?" She asked.

"Everyone deals with things differently," James said with a shrug.

"We better be headed," Alfred said after a moment of silence. "Coming Lucy and Frank?"

Lucy clambered to her feet, smiling at Remus as he stood to say goodbye. Frank, on the other hand, glanced over at Alice. His hands were shaking slightly.

"I thought I might walk Alice back to her dorm," he said, trying to sound confident. "If she would like that."

Alice blushed deeply, causing James to grin. Maybe the night wouldn't be a disaster after all. Alice nodded, bemused, before taking Frank's arm. Remus and Peter left with them, leaving just James and Lily behind. When it was clear that Lily wasn't about to speak, James began tidying the room. The clock on the wall struck eleven; it seemed to douse Lily out of her thoughts as she leapt to her feet and starting helping James.

"I'm sorry for wrecking your night," she said quietly. So quietly James wasn't even sure if she meant for him to hear them.

"For wrecking my night?" James repeated, feeling dumb folded but probably coming across as ignorant.

Lily nodded glumly. "I was acting like a prude."

"Hang on – wait," James said, stumbling with the intensity of his thoughts. Somehow he always had this effect over him. "Let me just organize my thoughts," he continued, earning a smile from her. "You didn't wreck the night Lily. Sure, it wasn't the best but it wasn't your fault."

"I should've just pretended like it didn't bother me and just have played the stupid game," she said.

"You shouldn't have to abandon your morals just to please your friends Lily," James told her. "In fact, despite it all, it just made me like you even more."

Lily blushed. "Really?"

James found himself inching closer to her. She looked so pretty with her hair hanging in curls around her shoulders. He felt his whole heart constrict at the sight of her, just standing there and blushing because of something he'd said.

"Yeah, it did," James said. "I don't want to pressure you into returning the feelings but every day I start to like you more and more. Ever since we became friends really."

"I," Lily stuttered. "James –" her voice broke off.

"Yeah Lily?"

"I, nothing," she mumbled. "I should head to bed. Lots to do tomorrow and I've got this essay from Slughorn to finish –

"Lily?" James interrupted her rant, smiling lopsided.

He tried to hide the way his hands were shaking when he asked, "do you want to do something with me tomorrow?"

Lily's emerald eyes grew, if possible, brighter. "Like what?"

James shrugged. "We could go to Hogsmeade."

"We can?" Lily said, surprised. "But it isn't even a visiting weekend."

"I have my ways," James said smugly.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you do, but I'm not sure about breaking rules."

"Well we could –

"How about we don't do anything," Lily said. Her eyes were still shimmering but the words sounded like a punch to his chest. He took a slow step backward, the disappointment sinking in.

"Oh okay," he said in a pained voice. "I'm sorry –

Lily's eyes grew wide. "Wait – James," she called, grabbing his wrist. "You daft idiot. Let me finish."

He smiled sheepishly.

"I meant we could do nothing together," she said. "It is Sunday after all. We could maybe eat breakfast here – together – and maybe play a game of chess or something."

"That sounds," he said, his voice trembling. "Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful."


	10. Mudblood scars and Patronus surprises

_**Disclaimer: YEAH JK Rowling – this one's for you**_

Lily Evans woke up Sunday morning uncertain about what she had insinuated to James last night. It was just a day of hanging? That was something friends did right? Lily couldn't press away the nagging feeling that told her it probably did mean more – to him, and if she was admitting it – to herself as well.

She slunk from her bed and tip toed downstairs, fairly certain that James would still be asleep. Therefore she was surprised to find him curled on the couch, a Quidditch magazine in his hands. He glanced up, grinning.

"Couldn't sleep?" Lily asked.

James made a muffled _hhummp_ sound. "Too excited," he told her.

Lily could feel her cheeks warming. She deposited herself in one of the armchairs, flicking her wand at the fireplace. Crackling flames sprung to life.

"When's your birthday?" James asked her.

"30th of January," Lily supplied. "After the Christmas break. What about you?"

"27th of March," he said. "After the Easter Break."

"So I'm older than you," Lily smirked.

"And wiser, more mature and more beautiful," James finished. He topped his comment off with a flirtatious wink that sent butterflies to erupt in her stomach.

She remembered her conversation with Marlene last night – trying to explain exactly how she felt for James.

" _So you're saying you feeling_ something _," Marlene had pressed._

 _Lily had thrown her hands up in exasperation, her glance flickering involuntarily towards James. He was laughing about something Mary had said. It wasn't jealously that had coursed through her skin – well not the type of jealously that Marlene would label it. She wanted James happy and if that meant laughing at Mary's jokes, she was fine with that. But a stabbing in her heart reminded her that she'd prefer to be the one making him laugh. Which was bizarre. When had she ever wanted to be the one making James laugh like that?_

" _I don't know what I feel Marley," Lily had groaned. "At first I just thought maybe I saw him as a friend or something but –_

" _But you wouldn't explain your feelings for, well say Remus, like this." She had gestured at Lily with a waving of her hand._

 _Lily had nodded vigorously. "James keeps me on my toes. I feel more alert – alive even – around him."_

 _Marlene's face had broken into a broad grin after Lily's declaration. "So what's stopping you?"_

" _Stopping me?" Lily had repeated, confused._

" _From dating him," Marlene had clarified. "From seeing if what you two have is something else."_

 _Lily had shook her head. "Nothing, I suppose," she had said weakly. "I just – how do I know if he feels the say way back? He hasn't asked me out in ages now. Maybe his feelings have changed."_

" _You're complete madness if you believe that," Marlene had said. "He's my cousin. I know how the stupid prat feels."_

" _I dunno Marls," Lily had said. "I'm so inexperienced with this. I'll make a mess of it, or even ruin it."_

" _Ruin it!" Marlene had exclaimed incredulously causing several heads to turn their way. "Look I'll go and talk to –_

" _No way," Lily had hissed. "Just – just let me figure this out."_

Lily tried to read the look in his eyes to decide whether she believed him or not. Part of her hesitation stemmed from the fact that James had always called her beautiful – even when they were fighting. Was it still the same to him? Just a game to see if he could have her?

Lily waved him off, scoffing. "I'm going to cook some toast?" She said. "Want some?"

"Sure," James said, looking slightly dejected.

Trying to ignore the fact that she had put that expression on his face, she stood up and headed towards their kitchenette. She stuck four pieces of bread into the toaster and set the heat to her favourite setting.

She risked a glance over at James. He was back to flipping lazily through his magazine, his glasses resting precariously on the tip of his nose. Every now and again he'd run his fingers through his messy hair, not really trying to mess it up more but more to get the curls off his face. Lily wondered how his hair would feel running through her fingers.

 _Stamp out of it Evans,_ she told herself firmly.

A sharp knock from the portrait door snapped her from her stupor. Hardly able to believe the traitorous direction her thoughts had taken her, Lily flicked her wand and opened the door. Sirius stood in the frame, his face flushed. James dumped the magazine instantly.

"Padfoot," he said, beckoning his friend inside.

"Hey Evans," Sirius said, walking towards James. "Sorry for barging in so early."

"It's no problem," James said for her. "What's up?"

His gaze flicked to Lily, before flicking back to James. Lily could tell that he was trying to think of a nice way to ask her to leave. James grimaced but jumped to his feet regardless.

"I'll be back soon," he said.

The two boys rushed upstairs, leaving Lily with four slices of toast. Trying to hide her disappointment about the conclusion of her "day of nothing with James" she slowly began buttering a piece. To her surprise, the boys stomped back downstairs after only a minute or two.

"What –" Lily started, before pausing and shaking her head. It was none of her business. "What spreads do you boys want?"

"Jam," James piped instantly. "Please," he added as an afterthought.

Sirius just slammed his fist onto the table and muttered angrily under his breath. Honestly, Lily wasn't sure if he was declaring his new found love for peanut butter or if there was something more serious going on.

"Mate," James said, dropping a hand onto his friends shoulder. "You don't know for sure –

"Oh don't patronize me James," Sirius snapped. "I saw his bloody face. And you saw their dots on the map." He suddenly stiffened, his focus shifting towards Lily.

"What's happened?" Lily asked, ignoring the toast and dropping into the empty space beside James. It wasn't curiosity that propelled her to ask, but the look of pain across Sirius' face. She doubted she'd ever seen him looking so vulnerable and raw.

"My arse of a brother's what's happened," Sirius grumbled.

Lily remembered her conversation with James late at night about Sirius' blood purist family. It seemed that their ideas had finally turned to bite him on the bum, as a manner of speaking.

"He hexed Eliza Abbott," James explained.

"The Hufflepuff?" Lily said.

James nodded. "The Abbott family are like mine and Sirius'," he continued. "Both old pure blood families. I'm sure you've heard that Eliza's dating Todd Jones?"

Lily nodded weakly. She had a feeling to where this was headed and she didn't like it one bit. "Well I guess you could say the Abbott family is more like mine in terms of values." He sent Sirius a sympathetic smile. "And Todd is a Muggleborn."

"So Regulus hexed Eliza because she's dating Todd?" Lily said. "How do you know that's the reason? Maybe she laughed at him in class or something."

"Because she's got a scar across her forehead that says _Mudblood lover_ ," Sirius hissed. "Madame Pomfrey is trying to remove it but – well, it's probably dark magic."

Lily gasped. "I thought the Slytherins only hated Muggleborns," she whispered.

"Lily, to them families like mine and Eliza's are traitorous to our blood. We're just as bad to them. I mean, they'll leave us alone, but in a way it's a smart way of severing the bond between Muggleborns or pure or half bloods," James pointed out.

Lily knew he was trying to look at this logically, but his words hit a very personal spot inside of her. "So you're saying that by attacking blood traitors they're aiming ostracize Muggleborns."

James shrugged. "Or manipulate blood traitors to turn to their cause."

"It's bullshit though Evans," Sirius said, sending his friend a pointed look. "Don't buy it for a second."

Lily swallowed. Here was another reason why her and James wouldn't work. She was a liability to him. James seemed to realize where here thoughts were turning and cursed under his breath.

"Lily –

A sharp rapping on the windowpane caught Lily's attention. A beady eye owl was glaring straight at her, a letter clutched in its beak.

"Jesus," Lily cried, stamping to her feet. "People need to stop banging for attention."

James snickered as she retreated to the window to fetch her letter. Sirius, on the other hand, looked more confused.

"Jesus?" He repeated. "Who in Merlin's name is that?"

"Some Muggle religion," James said, not looking certain in his words.

Lily tore open the letter as soon as she recognized her Mum's messy scrawl.

 _Lily Darcy Evans,_

 _You did not tell me you were bunking with a boy. I can't believe you keep such information from me. I hope he is behaving himself and acting like a proper gentleman._

Lily glanced over at James who was now in the process of trying to shove two pieces of cold and half buttered toast into his mouth. The word " _gentleman"_ was definitely questionable.

 _I hope your workload is decreasing._ (decreasing? Was her mum nuts?) _I have some exciting news. Your sister Petunia is getting married to Vernon._

"Holy Christ," Lily spluttered, staring at the words and not believing them. Vernon was, to put lightly, a complete douche prick.

"Lily? What's –

Lily waved James off hurriedly, returning to the letter.

 _I know that that might come as a surprise to you, but I do believe they work together. He isn't perfect, but then again who is perfect? I had always found the flaws of your father to be his most admirable traits in the end._

 _I'm getting Petunia to write directly to you to celebrate the news. I do believe the excitement of her wedding will dispel any bad feelings she has towards you._

Lily scoffed. Dispel six years of solid hatred? Unlikely.

 _I know you're probably scoffing at my words right now, but sweetie she is your sister. At least try to make an effort. It would mean the world to me if you to got along together like you used to._

 _Write me soon,_

 _Love your Mom xox_

Lily scrunched the letter in her fist and balled it towards the fireplace. Anger and guilt towards her mother welled up inside of her – anger because her mom knew damn well that Petunia was the cause of the strife between them, and guilt because of the pain it caused her mom to see them constantly arguing.

And now with Petunia getting married Lily could only see their relationship growing worse. Of course her Mom would try and turn the tables, but Lily had meet Vernon and somehow he was even worse than her sister about the Magical World. He was going to drag Petunia away from Lily's world.

"Lily?" James said, looking up at her with his wide eyes. Sincere concern flickered behind their hazel coloring. "Is everything all right?"

Lily sucked in a shaky breath.

"Is it from your sister?" He continued.

Lily shook her head. "Mum actually," she said. "My sisters getting married."

"Well that's not too bad," Sirius said.

Lily sunk into an armchair. "Imagine that Vernon is one of Who-Know-Who's followers," she said, trying to explain in terms that Sirius would understand. "And I'm – well me."

A dark flicker crossed Sirius' handsome face. "Maybe he should be marrying Regulus instead."

James laughed at that. Even Lily was able to offer a small smile.

"How about a game of snap," Sirius suggested. "And Lily – I'm still waiting for my toast."

Lily rolled her eyes. "What did you last slave die off?"

"Old age," Sirius said sincerely. Catching Lily's raised eyebrow he added, "seriously. My dear mother hung his head on the wall."

"I – what?" Lily spluttered.

"House elf," James said. "Although, her respect for her slaves is strangely admirable."

"That's – I mean, I can't," Lily said, mumbling over her words. "That's –

"Bonkers?" Sirius suggested.

"Bizarre?" James offered.

"Fascinatingly peculiar." Of course that one was Sirius.

"I was going to say insane," Lily said. "But if the shoe fits."

"It's a Black family tradition," Sirius told her. "The Noble House of Black has served our family for nearly two centuries now."

"Seriously?"

"Give or take a few years," James said, smirking.

"Wizarding families are bizarre," Lily said, shaking her head. "What about you James? Any strange family traditions?"

"Besides the tradition of passing along the gene for good looks?" James said, cocking his head.

"Absolutely awful Prongs," Sirius quipped. "If it's genes you're family passes on it's messy hair and bad eye sight."

"Can't deny that," James said. "I'm a spitting image of my father. My son will probably look just like me."

"You want kids?" Lily asked, unable to hide her surprise.

"Shocker, right Evans?" James said grinning. "But yeah, I do. Always wanted a sibling as a kid but my wish didn't come true until this pain in the ass came along."

"Me?" Sirius said, mocking indignation.

"I want a house full of kids," Lily said. "And I mean full of kids. All magical and messy and loud."

"You are nuts Evans," Sirius said shaking his head.

"Boys and girls?" James asked, swatting Sirius over the head.

"Both," Lily said. "But a boy first."

"Have you picked out a name for this child?" Sirius asked – his voice tinged with amusement.

"Max for a boy and Holly for a girl," Lily replied instantly.

Both boys burst into laughter. "I think if I'm ever going to have a kid I'm going to give him the biggest name," James said. "I mean, there's about three billion James' in the world and like only three Ignacio's."

"Are you asking for your kid to be bullied?" Lily demanded. "Because that's an awful name."

"I think it's cute," Sirius said teasingly. "You can nickname him Iggy or something fancy."

"I think you're cute," Lily said. "Doesn't mean I'm going to name someone after you."

"Did you hear that Prongs," Sirius said to a bewildering James. "Lily thinks I'm cute. Do you think I'm cute too? I always thought I had the more rugged look to me."

Lily couldn't help but agree with Sirius. The boy – arrogant and vain as he was – never over-exaggerated the extent of his good looks. It was no wonder all the girls swooned over him. James, on the other hand, was handsome in a more subtle, endearing manner. There were small freckles on his nose she'd never noticed. And a definite ski slope to his nose. His eyes were also larger than normal, with eyelashes some girls would probably murder for.

James coughed, his cheeks a rosy read. Lily realized that she'd been caught staring at him. "Talking of names," she said hurriedly. "Why Prongs?"

"Because he's a bloody idiot that's why," Sirius said cheerfully, whacking his friend over the head.

(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)

Lily wondered into Defense Against the Dark Arts trying her hardest to ignore the glares from one side of the room – so what the Slytherins hated her, so what that they would turn against James if she went out with him? So what? But this was Lily, she'd never been able to put others in danger.

She took her usual seat beside Marlene and Alice, hefting her textbook from her satchel and opening it to the page their teacher had written on the board. There teacher – a scarred and scary middle aged man named Professor Hank – hadn't shown up yet, which left the class in a fit of hushed chatter.

"Did you hear about Eliza?" Alice whispered to the two girls.

Lily nodded fervently. "It's so horrible. I really hope they punished Regulus."

"Regulus," Marlene exclaimed. "I heard it was Avery."

"Sirius said it was his brother," Lily said.

"When were you talking to Black," Marlene said, narrowing her eyes. "And when do you call him Sirius?"

Lily blinked. She hadn't even noticed that she'd used his first name. Yesterday she had spent the entire day with James and Sirius sending their time playing cards, charades and watching the boys engage in stupid activities such as a pillow fight and chasing each other around the room on broomsticks.

It was the first time she'd noticed just how perfectly they complimented each other. Sirius' fiery temper was matched by James' bursting optimism. James' moments of spontaneity were matched by Sirius' surprisingly well thought out logic. Both boys stopped each other from going over board, but egged each other towards the point of hilarity and memories that Lily knew would last forever; as clichéd as it sounded. It was nothing compared to her friendship with Marlene. These two boys had a bond between them that Lily couldn't quite comprehend.

"Now, I guess," Lily said, feeling strangely defensive towards Sirius. "That is his name."

In so many ways they were similar. Outcasts from their family. Dealing with outside pressures. Ridiculed and bullied from the inside about things they couldn't control.

"I think you should try talking to –

"Lily you were there," Marlene snapped. "He didn't even try to defend himself. He's obviously too lazy to even fight for me –

"Or you hurt him by accusing him of things he didn't do," Lily hissed.

Marlene gapped. It was out of character for Lily to reprimand her friends. Alice looked between the two of them, obviously torn between backing up Lily, or defending Marlene from Lily's outburst.

"I know what he's like," Marlene said.

"You know what he used to be like," Lily pointed out.

"How can you talk? It's the same with James, isn't it," Marlene muttered, weary of the unwanted attention they were drawing from the nearby Ravenclaws. "Your hesitating because you still believe he's the same boy that embarrassed you in front of the entire school during fourth year."

Lily blanked. Was Marlene right? She barely had time to figure out what was causing her hesitation when the door swung open and banged dramatically against the wall.

"Class," Professor Hank shouted. "On your feet. Today's class is a practical."

The class stood eagerly to their feet, watching as Hank vanished their tables and chairs with a silent wave of his wand.

"The patronus charm," he said. "What's it used for? Potter!"

"Man of few words our professor is," Alice whispered to Lily.

Lily barely managed to stifle a laugh as James explained the uses of a patronus charm in warding off dementors.

"Excellent," Hank cried. He beckoned the class to form a circle around him. "The incantation for this spell alone isn't enough. The caster needs to muster a happy memory – the stronger the more successful he or she will be – and let it consume them. Imagine the memory as a part of yourself, let it sink to your toes, float to the top of your head." With that, he lifted his wand and shouted, "EXPECTO PATRONUM."

A huge silver, four-legged animal sprung fro Hank's wand. It pranced around the circle a few times before Lily identified it as a buffalo. The animal seemed fitting somehow.

"The shape your corporal patronus takes place is often significant to the caster," Hank told them. "It might represent a part of who you are. Or it might indicate a tie you have towards someone. On rare occasions a person's patronus may change form if his or her undergoes an large, emotional change."

Lily caught James grinning from across the room, his arms crossed over his chest. Beside him Sirius was scratching his head with his wand.

"Try thinking of a thought," Hank said. "If you believe it to be strong enough I want you to attempt the spell. Don't be discouraged by failure – many wizards and witches alike cannot properly cast a corporal patronus and only ever cast sliver mist."

Lily scraped through her thoughts, determined to not fall in the latter category. Her entire childhood now felt tainted with the aftermath of Petunia's disgust towards her and her fall out with Snape. She remembered first meeting Marlene on the train. She'd been berating a familiar black haired boy that Lily recognized as the same boy that called Snape rude names. There friendship formed instantly over their annoyance at Potter.

She remembered the time when Alice filled the dorm with balloons and banners and streamers on the morning of her fifteenth birthday. She remembered the time Snape had comforted her after James had caused a suit of armor to throw her over its shoulders and march her around the Great Hall, threatening to not drop her until she agreed to date James.

None of them seemed strong enough. Around her people were already producing mist and Remus nearly produced what looked like some four-legged animal. He was so startled by its appearance that he dropped his wand, causing it to vanish instantly.

She glanced up to feel James' focus directly on her face. He was still staring at her – a beautiful grin across his face – when he shouted, "expecto patronum."

Everyone gasped in awe as a silver stag erupted from his wand, prancing proudly around the room. She could've sworn that its silvery face smiled at her.

"Well done Potter," Hank said. "I believe that warrants ten points to Gryffindor."

Lily eyed the stag's antlers, wondering if James already knew how to cast a patronus and hence, how he got his funny nickname.

After an hour of trying Remus had finally managed to properly produce his patronus – a silvery wolf. He vanished it instantly before anyone could work out that it wasn't just an ordinary wolf. He wasn't the only one who managed to succeed after James: Marlene had produced a golden retriever, which had caused James to laugh hysterically about for nearly five minutes. Two Ravenclaws and One Slytherin had also managed a corporal patronus.

Lily was starting to grow frustrated. Each of her attempts simply concluded with a puff of mist that probably wouldn't even scare a Cornish Pixie, let alone a stupid Dementor.

"You're thinking too hard Miss Evans," Professor Hank said. "If a memory doesn't work try mustering a feeling."

Lily blinked. Maybe she was focusing too strongly a selecting a memory that she was forgetting the most vital point. She wondered what James had been thinking when he was looking at her – a warm sensation prickled around her chest. What if he'd been thinking of her? Trying for subtly, Lily glanced over at James letting the image of him flood her thoughts.

"What are you thinking?" Alice said.

The question was for Marlene but it broke Lily from her gaze. Marlene shook her head, refusing to tell the girls.

"If it's about Sirius I'm going to puke," Lily teased.

Marlene's eyes narrowed. "Of course I wasn't thinking of that pig headed prat."

"Lily," Alice said. "What's your memory?"

"One's that aren't happy enough apparently," Lily replied frustrated.

"Expecto Patronum," Sirius shouted from across the room. He watched, startled, as a shaggy silver dog sprung from the tip of his wand and began chasing its tail.

"Well that makes sense," Alice said, laughing. "You know, it's cute how you also got a dog Marley."

Marlene whacked Alice lightly over the head. "Cute my arse."

Lily pulled her focus away from her friends and back towards the task at hand. Her glance moved involuntarily towards James. She just decided to let it happen – no one had to know what she was thinking about. Drawing the memory of their late night talks in the common room to mind and the feeling that was left in her chest as James talked around her problems, she hefted her wand into the air.

She sucked in a deep breath – barely registering the fact that James was staring back at her.

"Expecto Patronum," Lily shouted, mustering every inch of her being into the spell.

She watched nervously, holding onto the feeling in her chest, as the silver mist sprang from her wand and began to form into, into – a doe. Lily gaped as the silver doe pranced gracefully around the room, tossing its head back and forth.

Her wand clattered to the ground, vanishing the doe from sight. Marlene stared at her friend in astonishment.

"Lily?" She said, shaking her arm. "Oi, Lily."

Lily just shook her head, blinking owlishly.

"Well done, well done Miss Evans," Hank boomed, clapping his hands joyously. "I must admit that I'm impressed with everyone's work today but that's all for today. Class dismissed."

Lily hurriedly picked up her wand, gathered her books and rushed outside. She could feel James eyes following her. _God dammit,_ she thought angrily, _of all the creatures in the universe hers had to be a doe._ Maybe it was just a coincidence. Marlene and Sirius both produced dogs and they're at each other's necks.

Who was she kidding? She, Lily Evans, had produced the perfect match to James' patronus. She pushed out the idea of soul mates – that was preposterous. Anyway, a patronus wasn't a good enough reason to leap into a relationship. There was the simple fact that she was a Muggleborn and he wasn't. The fact he only wanted her because he couldn't have her.

 _You don't believe that,_ her thoughts traitorously told her. _Maybe before, but you know that he's changed._

Groaning in frustration, Lily made her way towards the Great Hall.

 **JAMES POV**

"You saw that right," James said, walking between Peter and Sirius towards the Great Hall.

Remus rubbed his temples, looking perplexed. "I guess it might mean something," he reluctantly offered.

" _Might?"_ James scoffed.

"You know Lily, Prongs," Peter said. "She'll deny that it means something."

"Don't go looking at this as some kind of proof that she should date you," Remus said. "If anything, that'll make her like you less."

James nodded. Her turned to Sirius who'd been silent the whole way. "What do you think Padfoot? Reckon Lily and I are soul mates."

Sirius shrugged. "Moony's right."

James groaned. "Rotten supportive friends you lot are."

He slouched into the Great Hall, depositing himself in his usual seat. Remus sat beside him, eyeing James skeptically.

"Have you told her how you feel?" Remus asked.

James gave him a pointed look.

Remus rolled his eyes. "No you idiot. Have you really told her? Maybe try that instead of just asking her out."

"I dunno," James mumbled. "I suppose I could, but what if she rejects me again. I think I really like her now."

Remus shook his head sadly. James rubbed his fingers through his hair and glanced down the table at Lily. She wasn't smiling, her fork moving listlessly across her plate, but she nodded to her friends anyway. James felt a sudden desire to stand up and hug her.

No, he didn't think he could stand another rejection. Maybe all he ever was going to have was a friendship with Lily Evans. He was okay with that – being friends with her was better than not. But then why did it hurt so much?

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	11. The unforgivable move

**JAMES POV**

James woke early on the first day of December. It was a Saturday morning and also the first Quidditch match of the season. He felt confident whilst marching over to the Gryffindor tower to rouse his team. They we're well trained. Unless someone got critically injured they stood a solid chance of beating Hufflepuff.

The walk from the Head's room to the Gryffindor tower took him past the Room of Requirement, something he and Peter had found during fourth year when they we're rushing to found a bathroom after Sirius dared them to see who could last the longest without using the bathroom. Peter had won that one. He grinned at the memory. It was also the same night he'd first seen Lily Evans out after curfew – with Snape nonetheless – but still, she was breaking rules. Something James had annoyed her about relentlessly for the following week.

His smile faded at the thought of Lily now. They we're well on the way towards becoming best friends – easily – judging on the amount of time they spent together, both voluntarily and because of their close proximity. But James could sense Lily's hesitation and knew it had to do with the multiple attacks on blood traitors. The teachers couldn't pin the blame without proof but most of the school knew who the group consisted off – Snape, Avery, Mulciber, Regulus and Evan.

James was still under the suspicion that Dumbledore had scheduled him and Lily onto daily patrols because of possible inside attacks – and if that was, the old man had been right. James knew that each of the mentioned Slytherins had parents with immediate connections to Voldemort. James figured this had an important role in determining their actions, but he couldn't quite peg why.

He turned a corner, now right near the Room of Requirement. It was also the same place he'd been attacked by Evan after the incident with Moony. Therefore he shouldn't have been surprised two Slytherins here again, but the sound of Snape's voice sneering his name, filled him with a rage he couldn't quite settle.

James spun on his feet, his scarlet robes twisting around his ankles. Snape glared at him, a snobbish scowl on his face. Behind him stood Regulus, his wand held tightly in his hand. James couldn't shake the feeling that both Slytherins had a personal vendetta against from the state of their anger – aimed directly at him.

Without thinking, James drew his wand from beneath his robes. If they were looking for a fight, James wasn't about to go down easy.

"Snape," he said. "I would say it's a pleasant surprise to see you, but well it really isn't."

"Don't patronize me Potter," Snape barked. "I want you to stay away from Evans."

"Well that might be slightly difficult," James said, barely able to hide his smirk. "Since we share a suite together and all."

Snape snarled, lifting his wand. But it was Regulus who spoke next. "You'll get what's coming for you Mudblood lover," he sneered.

"Don't you dare use that language," James shouted, his smugness vanishing into raging hatred. "Didn't your mother ever wash your scum mouth out?"

"You will stay away from her, mark my words," Snape glowered.

"And how are you going to achieve that," James snapped. "Kill me?"

"Close," Snape growled.

"Or are you going to pull a Regulus?" James said. "Scar my forehead with your vulgar language in the hope that Lily will stay away from me."

"Warmer Potter," Snape said. He was inching closer to James, his greasy hair covering half of his pale face. Behind him, Regulus had his wand trained on James' chest, covering his Slytherin friend. "But I had something a lot more painful in mind."

James took a nervous step backwards. There was an evil glint in Snape's eye he'd never seen before. Something feral and malicious. He lowered his wand, realizing that a duel wasn't going to go down favorably for him.

"Look Snape," he started. "You sure you want –

"Oh shut him up already," Regulus shouted. "He's the one who manipulated my stupid brother. Who stole your girlfriend from you."

"Sirius chose his own path," James said firmly. "Ever since he asked the hat to sort him in Gryffindor."

Regulus gasped. "He did not."

James nodded fervently. "Gryffindor's chose bravery. Sirius chose to be brave when he went against his own family."

Regulus' eyes flickered uncertainly, his wand dropping a few inches. James tried to hide his smug smile – he'd always thought there was more to Regulus than his family name. Snape on the other hand, was boiling with hatred.

"You'll stay away from Lily," he said. "You're not good for her."

"That may be true," James replied. "But I'm a whole lot better for her than you'll ever be."

With that he threw himself to the right, firing a spell towards Snape. The Slytherin threw up a hasty shield, just managing to refract James' hex. Snape's next hex flew so close to James' head that he felt a few of his hairs sizzle. James grew more and more worried as Snape continued to fling hexes his way. There was something different about them – something more dangerous. He'd been in duels before with Snape – more than he'd ever admit to someone – but there had always been a limit to them, both boys unwilling to fire a curse that would lead to immediate expulsion. That wasn't the case with Snape now. James didn't even recognize some of the curses that were shot his way.

"Sectumsepra," Snape snarled.

That hex James did recognize since Snape had used it against him during their fifth year. Pain sliced down James' right arm and across his torso. He tried throwing up a shield charm, diving out of the way of Snape's second attempt.

"Use them," Regulus sneered. "Remember what she said. Use it on him."

Snape's eyes grew wide but he nodded anyway. James darted behind a suit of armor, clutching his wand to his chest. He gasped wheezy air in and out of his lungs, the pain suddenly overwhelming. Blood dripped from his torso.

"Come on out Potter," Snape cried.

James felt dizzy. His vision had gone scarily blurry and he was no longer certain that he had ten fingers. He stumbled out from his hiding spot.

"If you're going to kill me," he said, spitting blood from his mouth. "Do it." James spread his arms out. "I'm proud to be a Muggleborn lover."

Snape's black eyes narrowed. He was being stupid, James knew that, but between his fuzzy thoughts and dwindling vision he had nothing else to do but defend his pride. He would go down fighting for what he believed in.

"I'm thinking of Lily," James said, letting the image of her face fill his mind. "And Sirius. I'm thinking of Eliza Abbott. And Jones Fawley, Margo Brown and Jessica Yaxley," he mumbled around the growing pain, listing names of Purebloods who'd been recently attacked by Snape and his croonies.

Snape snarled. His wand slashed through the air, moving in a movement that drew fear to prickle over James skin. "Cruico," Snape bellowed.

The unforgivable hit James squarely in the chest. Pain beyond pain hit every single nerve in James' body. The force was so strong it lifted James off the ground and flung him backwards down the corridor. He barely registered the sound of his wand clattering against the cobbles, barely registered the cracking sound his skull made against the brick.

Darkness consumed him.

Darkness and a silence with no edges.

 **LILY POV**

"What do you reckon," Lily said, holding her poster up at her friends.

Alice cocked her head, surveying the words, a small smile on her lips. Marlene, on the other hand, burst into fits of laughter.

"And now I understand why you chose to use Muggle methods," she said sarcastically.

Lily rolled her eyes, peering down at her rough drawing of a lion's head. Crooked words beneath spelt the slogan _GO POTTER._ "It's not that bad," she said.

"I doubt James will realize just how much your lion looks like a sloth," Alice pointed out. "Just the mere fact that its you holding a poster with his name on it."

"You don't think it's too flirty, do you?" Lily asked worriedly. She'd been stressing over making James a poster or not. Half of the Gryffindor girls usually made James a poster in the aim of catching his attention, but she'd done it out of friendship right?

Friendship and the tiny part of her that felt something more for James. Oh fine, the large part of her that definitely felt something for James.

"I thought you were going for flirty," Marlene said, cocking her head.

"Well kind of," Lily said. "But I don't want him to take this flirtatiously."

"Why not?" Alice ask, confused.

The three girls were decked in scarlet and gold like most of the Gryffindor table. The game started in an hour, but most of the tower came down early to support the team who were sitting in a group in the middle of their table. Since Alice and Marlene were both on the team, as the seeker and beater respectively, Lily was sitting with the team.

Well most of the team. James was yet to show, hence the freedom with their conversation.

"Because look," Lily said angrily, pointing at a cluster of sixth years at one end of the table. The five girls were all supporting _GO POTTER_ and _POTTER FOR KING_ posters. "They're going for flirty. I'm going for supportive."

Marlene laughed. "Maybe you should add that to the poster."

"Yeah in brackets beneath," Alice said. "Supportive not flirty."

Lily laughed, despite the feeling of unease in the pit of her stomach. It'd been over two weeks since she'd produced the doe patronus in class. To her surprise James hadn't brought the idea of _souls mates_ or _it's meant to be_ or any of that Romantic crap, in fact he hadn't mentioned it at all. That alone confused Lily to no ends.

It'd also been over two weeks since he'd admitted that he liked her – and that he grew to like her more and more everyday. Was that still the same? He hadn't asked her out, he hadn't tried to sweet talk her, he hadn't done anything but been a James Lily never thought existed. He was all kinds of nice, considerate and shockingly loyal. Lily had come to associate his arrogance with pride and a self-confidence that she had envied a few times.

If anything, things just felt awkward between them. Like they we're both feeling things they didn't want to express.

"We should probably head down soon to fit in some practice," Marlene said, finishing the last of her breakfast. "Where is James anyway?"

"Maybe he's already down there," Lily said half-heartedly. She was too busy fiddling with her poster to give his absence much thought. "I heard him leave this morning. Actually he banged on my door and shouted _will I see you at the game Evans."_

"Did you show him your poster?"

"I might've sworn angrily at him for waking me up," Lily said sheepishly.

"Oi Evans," one of the Gryffindor boys shouted. She recognized him as Benjy Boot, the keeper for the team. "You seen James?"

Lily shook her head. "Sorry."

The team, complaining about James' absence, clambered to their feet.

"See you in the stands," Alice said cheerfully.

"Kick some Hufflepuff butt out there," Lily told her two friends.

 **OTHER POV (** I know I'm off by four years but thought it'd be cute to throw a Weasley family member into the plot – just ignore the time gap)

William Weasley hurried down the corridor but stopped when he reached a fork at the end. _Admit it –_ the first year thought angrily – _you're lost._ Bill had been trying to find the entrance to the kitchens since the other boys in his dorm had told him it was a myth that house elves worked at Hogwarts.

" _Have you ever seen one anywhere," his new best friend Henry Lawson had scoffed._

" _I'll prove you wrong Henry,"_ _Bill had retorted._

All Bill had proven was that Hogwarts was much larger than he'd given it credit for. He couldn't be that far from the Gryffindor tower. His mum would've told him to re-trace his steps, but Bill was eleven and full of mischief. He kept on wandering around and around in circles, determined to find the kitchens.

What he found instead shocked him to the bones. Shoved behind a suit of armor, bleeding and unconscious, was his Head Boy. Well, at least Bill thought it was James Potter. Someone had snatched his glasses and blood coated most of his face.

Bill nudged James with his foot. _Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead._ To his immense relief, James stirred, moaning slightly.

"Merlin's beard," Bill mumbled. "I'll go and fetch Madame Pomfrey."

But then Bill remembered how lost he was. He was going to be known as the boy who let their Head Boy die because he couldn't remember whether the Gryffindor tower was on the third floor or the second floor. Determined to not gain such a bad reputation after only three months at Hogwarts, Bill roamed the corridors yelling before help. He finally stumbled upon McGonagall – who was apparently already searching the corridors for James.

"Professor," Bill cried, running up to her.

"Hello Mr Weasley," McGonagall said, sounding flustered. "I'm afraid you'll have to wait – I'm in a bit of a rush."

"But Professor –

"We've seemed to have lost our Quidditch captain," McGonagall interrupted him. She sounded worried. "The game is supposed to start twenty minutes ago."

Bill gawped at how much time had passed but hurriedly pushed back his surprise. "I know where he is," he told her. "Someone's tried to murder him."

 **LILY POV**

"What's going on?" Lily said, shielding her face from the sunlight.

"No clue," Remus murmured. He had a book open in one hand, his other hand blocking the sun from his face.

It was one of those days were despite the coldness, the sun was determined to shine brightly regardless. Lily admired its efforts but right now it was driving her mad – she could barely make out the huddle of players on the field.

"I think Gryffindor's missing a player," she said, squinting.

"You sure you heard James wake up this morning?" Sirius asked her lazily. He had his legs propped up on the seat in front of him.

"Unless I dream about him knocking the daylights from my door," Lily told him. "I'm very sure."

Suddenly McGonagall's magnified voice echoed across the field, drawing everyone's attention.

"Students," she called. "Sorry for the delays. Unfortunately today's game has been cancelled – " an uproar of complaints drowned out her next words.

Sirius leapt to his feet, angrily joining in. Remus looked unbothered by this news, but his eyes were narrowed in confusion. He pointed to Sirius and muttered something into his friend's ear. Nodding, Sirius pulled a tattered piece of parchment from his pocket and tapped his wand against it. Lily couldn't see what was happening since all three boys were peering over the parchment.

Peter let out a low whistle. "He's not here," she said.

"Unless he's in the Room of Requirement," Remus pointed out.

Lily grew more and more bewildered. "The Room of what?" she repeated. "And who's not here."

"James," Sirius told her. "He isn't in the castle."

"How in Merlin's beard do you know that?"

"Marauder secrets," Sirius said.

"He can't have gone –

"Unless someone took him out of the castle," Remus said, interrupting her. "Like a teacher."

"For what?" Peter said, frowning.

Sirius shook his head, obviously having caught onto Remus' train of thoughts. "No," he said, his smile vanishing. "You're very wrong Moony."

"Can someone explain what's going on?" Lily growled, grabbing Sirius by his cloak sleeve and swinging him around.

Sirius yanked at of her grip, a feral look on his face. Lily dropped her hand instantly, nervous. She'd never seen Sirius looked so worked up and angry before. She knew James was worried about him – he fretted over it constantly – but what he didn't mention was why.

"Well he is a pureblood," Peter squeaked.

"So?" Lily snapped, before remembering the events that had occurred over the past three weeks. "Oh," he voice petered off into a low whisper. "But hang on – he would've just been taken to Pomfrey right?"

"Lily," Remus said, sound tense. "They cancelled Quidditch. Let me re-phrase, McGonagall cancelled Quidditch."

"And this is Snape we're talking about," Sirius finished.

(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)

Lily followed the rest of Gryffindor back to their tower, joining in on the confusion that was buzzing around the castle. No one but Lily and the Marauders seemed to have made the connection between James' absence and the cancelling of the game.

Lily threw herself onto the couch, dumping her poster onto the table. Maybe Alice and Marlene knew what had happened. The three boys joined her, their brows creased with worried. Sirius was still peering over his piece of parchment.

After thirty arduous minutes, the portrait door swung open and in piled the Gryffindor team. At the sight of their pale faces, a few of the older students stood up and began shouting complaints.

"It's rubbish," Oliver Bones shouted. "Cancel Quidditch? Who would've known?"

"McGonagall must be off her rocker," Katie Bennett added.

"Where's Marley?" Lily whispered as Alice sunk into the chair beside her. The three boys leaned closer.

Alice shook her head, sucking in a shaky breath. "Oh Lily, it's awful."

Lily blinked. "What happened? Is everyone okay?"

Alice bit back a sob. Her hands were bunched in delicate fists, her nails scraping into her skin. "It's James," she told them. "He's been taken to Mungo's."

"What?" Sirius exclaimed. "Why?"

Alice shrugged. "A first year found him shoved unconscious behind a suit of armor covered in blood. McGonagall said he showed signs of the cruciatus curse."

Lily couldn't help swearing. "Shit," she exclaimed.

Catching Sirius startled expression at her language, she fervently added, "well it is shit. Who in their right minds would use an unforgivable?"

"McGonagall said he had _Mudblood lover_ scared on his forehead," Alice said. "So it's probably Avery or Mulciber or…" she trailed off, casting a worried look between Sirius and Lily.

"Or Regulus," Sirius muttered. "You can say it if you're all thinking it."

"And Snape I guess," Lily said, shaking her head sadly. Her childhood friend really was gone if he was firing Unforgivables at people. "He is fine, though right?"

"James?" Alice said, shrugging. "I dunno, McGonagall didn't say much. Marley's gone to visit him – they're saying its family only at the moment."

"Why the fuck did those grease balls learn how to cast unforgivables," Sirius exploded, looking angered by Alice's words. "We haven't studied them in class yet."

"There are books in the restricted section about them," Peter pointed out.

"And most of them are prefects," Lily said.

"James reckons they're up to something," Remus said, glancing at Lily and Alice. "He thinks that's the reason you two have to patrol daily."

Lily blinked. James had never mentioned anything about that before; in fact he'd never mentioned anything about the Slytherins to her. "So you're saying that Dumbledore probably has suspicions too?" Lily said.

"If James is right," Remus said, running a hand through his hair. "He reckons the attacks by the Slytherins have some sort of connection with You-Know-Who."

"How does he suppose that?" Alice asked.

"Well, firstly those particular Slytherins have close ties to Voldemort," Sirius said, ignoring the sharp gasps from the girls at the mention of his name. "And well, they're all trying to achieve the same things – ostracize Muggleborns and create hate towards Muggles."

"It's also possible that they're acting off orders from their parents," Remus said, much to the shock of Lily. "It isn't compulsory to send your kid to school, but we receive a much better education here than if we studied from home."

Sirius nodded fervently. "My parents hate Hogwarts because of how they let everyone come study here. Obviously they don't care about me but with Regulus they can make sure he gets a good education and makes connections."

"That's madness," Lily said angrily. "They can't be allowed to get away with that."

"It works," Peter said, shaking his head. "Maisy Higgins dropped out the other day because she was getting bullied so much."

Alice's eyes nearly bugged out of her head, and Lily couldn't blame her. Maisy was a gentle Hufflepuff sixth year – she literally wouldn't hurt a fly – but she was also a Muggleborn, and half squib to boot.

"It can't work for everyone," Lily muttered, than trailed off. Who was she kidding? It had worked on her – wasn't this one of the reasons she kept her relationship with James as only platonic? If James got hurt because of her, Lily didn't think she could bare it. But he did. Everyone knew James had a thing for her, and he'd been targeted because of it. And he'd gotten it worse than most because of Snape's obsession with Lily.

She could feel herself paling. Alice's expression was schooled, but Lily knew she could tell what thoughts were berating her. Surprisingly, it was Sirius who spoke up.

"Evans if you're blaming yourself – stop," he ordered, sounding angry. Lily blanched. _What had she done now?_ "You know James won't blame you for it, so no point scolding yourself."

"I – just," she faltered at the pointed look all three boys sent her way. "What if he's really, badly hurt? You can't say it isn't my fault. I'm the Mudblood for Christ sakes."

Lily felt disgusted at herself – disgusted at the fact that she was a Muggleborn, disgusted at the fact that she drew this kind of attention.

"Lily," Remus said quietly. "I don't think –

"No," Sirius belted, earning a few reproachful glares from around the room. "Evans just shut up. Yes you're a Muggleborn but why the fuck should that matter?"

"No you shut up Sirius," Lily shouted. "None of you lot are Muggleborn. You have no clue how it feels to be discriminated against because of your blood?"

Sirius scoffed. "Yeah, I have no experience." He glared sarcastically at Lily, who wilted a little. In her own rage, she'd forgotten about Sirius' mental family.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know," Sirius said. "But you can't scream at us. We're in this with you Evans."

"Hear, hear," Alice said, smiling despite the past events.

 **JAMES POV**

James woke feeling like crap. The bed beneath him was unfamiliar. So were the walls, and the view outside his window. Startled, he jolted upwards only to be yanked back by something attached to his face. He pulled back the oxygen mask, confused.

There was only one thing familiar and that was the form of his cousin curled on a chair in the corner of the room. Her golden hair was messy and tied in a knotty bun. Her skin was pale, and when she stirred James could see the worry etched in her sleeping face.

She tried to count back the events in his head. He remembered waking for a Quidditch game – maybe he'd been knocked out by a Quaffle? Then suddenly it came rushing back to him: the encounter with Snape and Regulus, the duel – the one, unforgivable.

Even to his own surprise, the first emotion he felt was surprise. Not angry or shock or anything similar. He was honestly surprised that Snape had fired an unforgivable. That wouldn't just result in a month of detentions – it was Azkaban worthy.

"James!" A startled voice shook him from his daydream.

Marlene leapt from her chair and rushed over to him. "How are you?" She said.

"Shocked," James replied, honestly. "A little sore, I guess."

Marlene beamed at that. "You've been out of it for four days now."

James blanched. "Four? Have you been here the whole time?"

She nodded. "Lily's been sending me school work." She ran a hand through her messy hair-do, giving it an extra fizz. "And you've been receiving mail." She pointed to a pile of unopened letters on a white, bedside table. James didn't recognize the handwriting of the one on top.

"Has anyone else visit?" He asked, drawing his eyes from the pile.

An image of Lily crying hysterically over his lifeless body filled his thoughts – only to be replaced with the image of Sirius berating him for being such an idiot and going and getting himself cursed.

"You mean has Lily visited?"

James shrugged, trying to look unbothered.

"She wanted too," Marlene said. "But it's family only. Your Mum and Dad are talking to the Healers. I should probably go and tell them that you're awake and –

"Wait," James said, grabbing Marlene's hand to stop her from getting up. Marlene sent him a curious glance when he didn't say anything else. He fumbled with the worries that were numbing his mind.

"Do people know who it was?" Marlene asked for him. After James had nodded hesitantly, she continued, "no," she sounded resigned, "I guess people are waiting for you to snitch on the culprit."

"So everyone knows about it?" James said, not sure how he felt about that. He was used to the attention him and his friends received – well the attention they used to demand during younger years – but he felt a weird sting of vulnerability drive through him.

James' father, Robert, was a first class Auror and James' hero ever since he charmed his teddy bear to hug him back when he was two. It didn't come to a surprise to anyone then when he declared that he to was going to become an Auror when he was thirteen.

Of course Mr. Potter had encouraged his decision, telling James about his thrilling tales chasing the bad guys. What he'd failed to mention was this – the feeling of fear, the pit in his stomach that was hollow, the unease that now drained him like a plague. He'd been attacked and he'd nearly died.

He wasn't sure how he felt because he still wanted to become an Auror – he still wanted to play his role in the up-coming war – but he'd never fully comprehended the seriousness of it.

Snape had played the first move.

And James could feel the grounds of Hogwarts crumbling because of it. Inside the castle walls, James could continue to remain relatively safe – comforted by the rules, his ability to plot out the next move.

But outside.

That wasn't a game.

 **CHUCK US A REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF SNAPE USING AN UNFORGIVABLE.**


	12. The Catchers in the Rye

_**This chapter is short (I'm sorry – but it has only been a few days since my last update) – I just wanted to try something out and get your opinions on it before I put it in my actual plan for this story.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Owned by JK Rowling.**_

 **SIRIUS POV**

It'd been nearly a week since James had been attacked. Marlene had returned to school yesterday, her face ashen but smiling nonetheless. _He will survive,_ she'd said. Sirius didn't know how he felt about everything – obviously he was ecstatic that James was fine but was he pissed that maybe his brother had been involved, sad that maybe his brother had been involved or angry with himself that Regulus maybe had been involved.

At first he'd wanted to confront his brother – demand the truth from him. He'd tried asking the Slytherin portrait to let him in – even spent the worse half of thirty minutes guessing passwords – but it refused. Stupid blasted portrait. Sirius wasn't idiotic enough to start something with Regulus in the Great Hall, not when he was surrounded by his friends.

"Quidditch," Sirius grumbled to the Fat Lady.

The Fat Lady eyed him curiously. "Rough day?" She asked.

Sirius grumbled something unintelligent – he wasn't in any right mood to make small talk. The portrait swung open, look slightly hurt. Seven days without James hadn't just taken its toll on Sirius and the other two marauders, but the entire Gryffindor cohort. The first four days had been the worst, when people weren't sure if he was okay or not. After Marlene returned, people starting fretting over what was going to happen, what it all meant. One rumor – which was squelched instantly – argued that it couldn't have been a student since unforgivables weren't on the syllabus.

Sirius made his way over to Remus who was tucked on a couch, reading a novel.

"What are you reading?" He asked, plopping himself next to his friend.

Remus glanced up. "The Catcher in the Rye."

"Ah I love that book. The way he just," Sirius clenches his fist, "catches all that fricken rye."

"I'm quite sure Salinger didn't mean it literally," Remus continued, unfazed.

"And I'm positively sure that they're bugging me," Sirius said, pointing at a cluster of third year girls.

Remus raised an eyebrow, shifting his focus to Sirius' line of frustration. Five girls were crowded over a poster that clearly read _GET WELL SOON JAMES,_ arguing whether or not James' favourite colour was red or gold.

"You're not the only one," Remus said, smirking.

Sirius glanced up to see Evans – hunched over a desk with a quill in her hand – glaring angrily at the girls. As if sensing the two boys, she looked over at them. Sirius smirked, winking suggestively. Lily blushed, hurriedly turning back to her essays.

"Do you think I should tell them," Sirius said, scratching his nose at the strangeness of Lily's behaviour.

"Tell them what?" Remus blinked.

"That James' favourite colour is green?" He glared angrily at his fingers.

Remus shrugged. He dog-eared his book and placed it on the table near his feet. Sirius shifted uncomfortably in his chair, having caught Remus' knowing expression and not liking it one bit.

"Did you find him?" Remus asked, lowering his voice.

"Find who?" Sirius retorted.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "You know you have no proof that it was him," he told his friend. Sirius looked at him incredulously, obviously not believing Remus' words. "He is a fifth year Padfoot. I've read about Unforgivables –

"You've what?" Sirius exclaimed. Lily sent the two boys a curious glance – which Sirius waved away irritated, leaning closer to Remus.

"Don't act so shocked," Remus said, rolling his eyes. "I overheard my parents talking about them in third year and got curious is all. You have to really mean them." Noticing Sirius' pointed look. "I don't think you get it Padfoot. You have to really want to inflict pain – every part of your core. And I don't think your brother hates James that much."

"But then why would he refuse to tell Marley who attacked him?" Sirius argued. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

Remus cast a worried look over at Lily. Sirius followed his friend's glance, instantly locking focus with a particular red head. Lily had a quill stuck between her teeth, another scratching angrily at a piece of parchment. Her curly hair was tied back in a knotty bun. Sirius had never gotten to know Lily properly, not as well as Remus knew her, and he'd never understood James' admiration of her. Sure, she was smart and wasn't bad looking (if you we're into skinny, freckly red heads) but seventh year had changed that.

He was surprised to find out that they had so many things in common, and was even more surprised to find out that she was more than a stuck up, goody too shoes prefect.

"You think James won't tell Marlene because it was Snape?" Sirius whispered, still watching Lily.

Remus nodded. "I know she won't ever admit it, but she blames herself for what happened with Snape."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "That girl places too much pressure on herself."

As if noticing that they were talking about her, Lily glanced up again, her frustrated expression turning into one of confusion when she caught both boys watching her. Sirius pointed to the cluster of Gryffindor girls then pretended to saw his own head off with an axe. Remus whacked Sirius over the head as he pretended to topple of his chair – gasping in mock pain – whilst Lily burst into energetic laughter.

"Get up you mutt," Remus tutted.

Sirius clutched his heart. "Don't get me when I'm already done Moony."

"Don't you have detention soon?"

"Again with the insults," Sirius whined, sending Remus puppy-dog eyes. The boy in question just pushed Sirius off his chair again. From his position on the floor Sirius added, "and no I don't. It was with Sprout you see."

"Ah yes the lust thing again," Remus said drily.

"I actually flirted my way out of this one," Sirius said, clambering to his feet. He sat on the sofa – this time out of Remus' reach – crossing his arms over his chest. "Whet for the good old sweet talking method. Did you know she as a particular liking for licorice wands? Luckily for her I had some with me."

"Only you Padfoot," Remus said, trying his hardest to still look cross with his friends behaviour but failing. Sirius caught the cross between admiration and humor in Remus' tone and smiled triumphantly.

"It means you get to spend more time with me," he said, poking himself in the chest with his thumbs.

"Lucky me," Remus drawled. "I actually have – unlike you – a desire to pass my NEWTS so will probably be studying tonight."

"Buzz kill," Sirius moaned. "Sure you don't want to raid the kitchens?" Remus shook his head. "See if the Room of Requirement will turn into an indoor pool?" Remus argued that it was too cold to swim – and pointed at the first specks of snow that we're starting to fall outside the frosted window. "A heated pool? With slides and music and food – and a pool party."

"You know, you might actually be onto something there," Remus teased.

Sirius brightened instantly, but scowled when Remus starting laughing. "James would've been up for it," he said, intending for the words to be hurtful, but instead they came out hesitantly. He threw another glance over at Lily, doubting his own words. James had changed this year – grown up, matured or whatever.

"Yeah well I'm not James," Remus said, feeling the need to clarify that.

Both boys glanced at each other – Remus daring Sirius to have a problem with that, and Sirius urging him to drop his "prefect façade." Sirius felt something shift inside him – it was tiny, barely noticeable – but it worried him nonetheless.

"Umm," a voice said, dragging them from their stupor. Peter was standing over them – looking uncertain. Sirius didn't know why but he felt a sudden irritation at the mousy haired boy before them.

"What?" Sirius snapped.

Remus scowled at him.

"McGonagall asked me to tell you that she's disappointed in your blackmailing of Sprout and wants you to apologize," Peter told Sirius. "Also you have detention with McGonagall at eight."

"What?" Sirius exploded.

Remus burst out laughing.

"Why do I have detention with Minnie?" He demanded, furious.

"For black mail," Peter told him, frowning as if the answer was obvious.

"Darn her," he muttered. "And shut up Moony."

 **OKAY question – I've been tossing it up (and this chapter was a kind of tester I guess) but would people be interested in wolfstar? I've always been a fan of that pairing. Tell me what you think and if u want it review saying YES!**


	13. Star crossed lovers

**Thanks to all my reviwers**

Jilyforeva – I strongly agree with how you see James (hence why I write him like I do) – glad your enjoying the story

Kristina080 – yay happy to hear that

Ryeflight – thanks for all three reviews and the encouragement, hope it's still meeting your expectations. And I agree with the whole damsel in distress thing (Lily is most certainly not that in my opinion). Also wolfstar isn't going to happen because I want to focus more on Lily and James, so I agree with your opinion :))

ClemK – glad my story was good enough to make you want to review. Thanks for your opinion on wolfstar (it isn't going to happen) – but they only thought Remus was the traitor after James and Lily died

Sinking – I'm sorry you feel that way. I actually have a plan for why Snape used such a strong curse. Also sorry about the canon thing – I'm actually going to write Bellatrix out of the story becacuse of it, since I want a canon story. Also honestly didn't know about James' parents (read up about them now)

 **LILY POV**

James' return to Hogwarts on the 14th of December, only three days before the Christmas holidays, didn't go unnoticed. Naturally the whole school had heard what had happened – minus who had attacked James – and probably half of the Hogwarts cohort had written him _Get Better_ cards. None of this surprised Lily – the boy could probably start a knitting club and have maximum attendance in less than three minutes.

Lily was sitting alone in the Great Hall – three textbooks scattered open around her – when James and Remus entered. Almost all of the heads in the hall turned to stare at him, and most of the younger years burst into frantic whispering. Lily wasn't sure what to do. Wasn't sure how to act. James had been cursed to an inch of his life and she was worrying about whether to hug him or not.

She watched in horror as Julia Ancott, a sixth year Gryffindor with a reputation of slutiness, sauntered up to James and gave him a drawn out hug. Lily couldn't see James' face, or hear their conversation, but the sight of them hugging filled Lily with a feeling she couldn't peg.

Over the past fortnight, Lily had felt James' absence like a pang in the chest. She had even moved back into her old bed to quell the feeling that she was suddenly alone. She'd missed their late night conversations, she'd missed walking with him to breakfast every morning, she'd missed hearing him rant on and on about Quidditch. She'd missed his smile, the way he ruffled his hair when he was nervous. She'd missed his smirk in class, his idle banter that brought an instant laugh to her lips, his warm, thoughtful hazel eyes. She'd missed the way his glasses were too big for his face and would slip down his nose.

She'd missed him listening to her problems (and his advice), or just him listening to her day. She'd missed just being around him, hearing his voice as he joked with his friends, the forceful look he got around anyone who tried to tease her.

Lily Evans had missed James Potter with every part of her heart. He was the boy who didn't care that she was a Muggleborn. The boy that had gotten hurt probably because of her.

She tried to straighten her thoughts when she saw them coming her way. Her heart was pounding at a ridiculously fast pace – _thud, thud, thud_ – and her legs had suddenly gone numb beneath her. She had to be brave. _James doesn't care,_ she reminded herself forcefully, _he doesn't give a rat's ass that you're a Muggleborn. That he might get hurt because of you._ Lily tried to convince herself that her thoughts were right.

She couldn't let the Slytherins get to her. Couldn't let the war ruin her friendships. Couldn't let the war dictate her life. Something seemed to settle in the pit of her stomach – a light, fluttering feeling. He was walking closer, stopping every now and again to answer someone's question or receive another hug, his eyes focused not on Lily, but something above her head.

A group of Gryffindor fifth years – three boys and a blue-eyed girl – stood up to congratulate him. One of the boys, Barney Mower, clapped James on the back and shouted something about how he'd faced death without even a bruise.

There was a painful expression in James eyes that caused Lily to shudder. She stood up, and because that wasn't enough, she stood up on her bench. Now he was looking directly at her, his expression shifting. Lily waited – her breath caught between the nerves – the room suddenly still. And he smiled. James Potter looked at her and smiled. Suddenly she didn't care that everyone was looking at her. She didn't care that maybe she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life. She leapt from her chair and ran the last few paces between them, before flinging her arms around his neck and kissing him.

His face was warm under her fingers, his mouth or hers soft and gentle, but everything else was frozen. He'd gone all stiff, his posture sharp. She pulled back – her cheeks blazing. James was barely breathing, his face flushed. The hall was quiet. Lily couldn't help but realize how stupid a place this was to suddenly declare her feelings. Maybe he was trying to figure out the nicest way possible to tell her he didn't reciprocate the feelings? Maybe she was wrong – _wrong, wrong, wrong._ Frightened, she took a few steps backwards.

The movement seemed to alert James. His eyes went from a crinkled smile, to euphoria.

"Evans?" He whispered.

Lily nodded slowly. She willed herself not to run.

"Jesus," he murmured. Lily couldn't help smiling when he ran his fingers through his hair. She also smiled at his use of a Muggle term – something he undoubtedly picked up from her. "I stuffed that up, didn't I? Two years of waiting, and I freeze on you." He shakes his head like he can't quite fathom his own actions. "Can we try it again?"

"You're an idiot Potter," Lily told him, but she allowed him to pull her into his arms anyway and kiss her.

His soft hands cradled her face, delicate and fragile. She ran her fingers through his messy hair, smiling against his mouth. They were both laughing a little, both full of disbelief. Everything about it felt right. He pulled away after a few moments – his face alive and flushed – shaking his head at the sudden stream of wolf whistling and cries of joy. It had only been brief and fragile and shaky but it made sense. The fidgety feeling inside of her was suddenly overwhelming.

"You owe me five galleons," Marlene suddenly screamed, jumping to her feet. She pointed a long finger towards Remus, who'd watched the entire showdown with surprise.

Lily couldn't believe her ears. "You had a beat on us?" She said, whirling to face Marlene.

Marlene shrugged. She didn't even look abashed by her behaviour. If anyone should be feeling abashed be their behaviour, it should be Lily. She'd just kissed a boy – James Potter, for that matter – in front of the entire school, staff included.

Remus chuckled. "Sorry you two," he said, taking a seat near Marlene. "But honestly was expecting this to happen after the Christmas break."

Unsure how to respond she turned back to James. The black hair boy looked slightly flushed like he couldn't quite believe it either. "Uhh, you hungry?" She said to him.

"Ravenous," James replied, following her to her pile of books and half eaten lunch.

Marlene and Remus joined them, hiding smiles behind schooled expressions. Remus looked like he was about to say something, when Sirius suddenly burst into the hall – his handsome face grinning like a madman.

"Jamsie," he called, rushing over to his best friend. He clapped James on the back and took the seat beside him.

James smiled back, obviously annoyed by the nickname but grinning nonetheless.

"Mate you won't believe this prank that I've –

"Really Black?" Lily interrupted, rolling her eyes.

"Yes Evans," Sirius grumbled back, before turning back to James. "Dude the castle's been a real bummer without your sorry arse here."

James shrugged, his eyes fervent. "No other pranksters trying to steal our place?"

"Our legacy is too big for that," Sirius told him.

"Just about the same size as your ego," Remus interrupted.

Lily turned back to James, as Sirius verbally asulted Remus for making such declarations – she caught words such as _unbelievable_ and _drastic measures_. "You should eat something," she told him.

He poked at his plate, still grinning like some idiot. Remus was badly managing to hide a chuckle at the glazed expression on James face, even despite Sirius rambling. Marlene, who'd given up trying to hide her amusement, burst into peals of laughter at the curious look on Sirius' face as he finally clocked that something unusual had taken place.

"Okay," Sirius said, stabbing a slice of beef with his fork. He waved it between Lily and James. "What in Merlin's name did I miss?"

"Only one of the most historic moments in Hogwarts history," Marlene said, between giggles.

Lily rolled her eyes. "A little melodramatic don't you think?"

Sirius whined like a small puppy. "I wanna know," he moaned. "Tell me, tell me, tell me."

"Chapter thirty three," Marlene said, whacking her hand against one of Lily's textbooks. "Hogwarts most beloved star crossed lovers."

"We're not star crossed," James pointed out.

"And that chapter certainly doesn't exist," Lily concluded, always the voice of sense.

Marlene shrugged, tucking a few loose curls behind her ear. Sirius, on the other hand, gawped – his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air.

"You," he said, pointing at James, "and you," he whispered, pointing to Lily, "are – you're finally a couple?" At the look of glee in James' eyes, and the sarcasm in Lily's exasperated expression, he fell back off his chair. He literally threw himself off the back of his chair, gasping with laughter.

"Just leave him," Remus said, rolling his eyes. He reached for a bread roll and began buttering it as if nothing had happened.

As if Lily hadn't changed things completely. But had her kiss turned them into a couple?

 **JAMES POV**

James didn't remember the walk to Potions. He didn't remember what Slughorn was ranting on about. And he certainly didn't remember the double History of Magic lesson. All he could think was: _she kissed me. Lily Evans actually kissed me._

Lily sat with him at lunch – which wasn't unusual – but she kept on glancing over at him, grinning slightly. A few sixth years clapped him on the back – smirking – and congratulated him. A third year Slytherin – one James didn't recognise – tried hexing him but he threw the curse off lazily, thanking the skies that Lily wasn't around to see.

He wondered what made her change her mind. At one point of the day, after he endured an hour of Snape glaring murder at him during Transfiguration, he wondered if maybe it was a pity kiss. Like, _hey I'm sorry you got hexed because of me. Here, let me fulfil your fifth year fantasy._ He pushed the idea away instantly; Lily wasn't that kind of person.

After last period the four boys made their way back to the Head Common Room, locked in the same conversation they'd been having all day.

"So you're definitely going to do it," Peter said, just to confirm his disbelief. "You're actually going to try asking her out again."

Sirius groaned. "Dude – clock on," he said, swatting his friend over the head. "The chick kissed him in front of the entire school. I think the answer's yes."

"That wasn't very Lily like, was it," Remus said, rubbing his jaw.

James frowned at that. Once again the doubt swept back in – even despite the blazing look in Lily's eyes as she'd rushed towards him – and he was back to the original question. To ask her out or to not?

"Maybe she was jealous of all the attention Ancott gave you," Sirius offered. He looked just as perplexed as James felt, which didn't make James feel any surer.

"Ugh I hope not," James said, feeling useless. "Ancott has nothing on Lily."

"Well obviously," Sirius said. "But obviously to you, not Lily."

"If you're suggesting I ask Lily if the reason she made out with me was because she was jealous you've got some messed up conception of her," James told his best friend. Even if James had similar doubts, that would only set spark to an inferno.

"I wasn't –

Remus cut Sirius off with a quick jab of his arm. "Uh we have company," he said, motioning to the figure of two girls coming towards them.

James recognised the shorter of the two as Lily. By the looks of things she was in an animated discussion with his cousin. Both girls hadn't noticed the boys yet.

"Hey girls," Sirius said, adopting his cocky, happy-go-lucky voice.

Lily almost jumped from her skin, her mouth snapping shut instantly. Marlene simply smiled before waving at the boys.

"I was just heading back to the common room," she said – James wasn't sure if she was talking to all of them or insinuating at something else – "who wants to join me?"

Lily looked mortified as she realised what her friend was not so discretely doing. James winced – was she really that embarrassed about her actions?

"I do," Remus piped instantly.

It took Sirius and Peter a few moments longer to catch onto Marlene's insinuation, but all too suddenly it was just him and Lily and a brain left with no words. He wondered if maybe he should say something when Lily suddenly straightened her shoulders and jutted her chin out – determined not to falter.

"Hey," she said, sounding blank. James tensed at the tone of her voice. "I don't really know what to say."

"How about we go inside," James said, motioning at the entrance of their portrait hole.

Something had shifted between them. James could feel it bludge and poke at his edges as they walked inside – this new sensation. He'd never felt anything like it before and it frightened him. He felt as if he was walking over a tightrope, a path of hot coals and swimming upstream all at the same time – exciting and intense.

Lily settled herself onto a couch, crossing then uncrossing her legs. James took one of the armchairs, resting his elbows on his knees.

"So – " Lily started, only to falter and stare nervously at her entwined hands.

James focused his attention on her fingers. She bit her nails he realised. They weren't like the nails of other girls he'd dated – all long and always coated in nail polish – but calloused and imperfect.

"How about we play our game," James suggested.

Lily shook her head, still looking nervous.

James frowned. "We don't have to talk about it – "

"No I want to," Lily interrupted, finally turning to look up at him. "I just – I don't know how to explain it."

"It felt big," James said.

The words had sounded less foolish in his head, but to his surprise Lily nodded eagerly, her smile inching further up her face.

"Do you think we could maybe try it again?" James asked. "Not tonight – but maybe if we went to Hogsmeade together. Or, we could do something smaller."

"Another day of nothing?" Lily said. She looked less nervous and more excited.

"But maybe without Sirius this time," James said.

James like the way things had shifted. It felt palpable. It felt real. And for a change he knew that Lily felt the difference too – the way she was blushing, the glint in her eyes – were all new, stronger.

"I'm glad you kissed me back," Lily said, giggling slightly.

"Saved you from embarrassing herself in front of the entire school?" James said, jokingly. Well, he sure hoped that wasn't why – but he could tell from the gleam on her face that it wasn't.

"The lesser of two reasons," Lily murmured.

James was happy just to sit there and listen to the crackle of the fire, but after a few minutes Lily convinced him that they should be working on their Potions essay.

"They due tomorrow," Lily told him, already on her feet.

"I'm excused from homework for the last three days of term," James said, looking smug about it.

But if Lily heard his smugness she dismissed it, instead looking mortified. "Oh my god – I didn't even ask if you're okay."

James just laughed. "Firstly, you did. You kissed me, and then made sure I ate something. That made me better."

"God you're such a cliché," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "Are you going to tell something who hexed you?"

"I think you already know," James murmured.

Lily nodded, frightened. "You don't think he's one of them."

James shook his head. He then opened his arms and ushered her forward. Lily wrapped her arms around his waist, tucking her head under his chin.

"Not tonight," James whispered into her hair. She smelled like mint and caramel and the chocolate pudding from dessert. "We can't let them ruin this."


	14. Conjuration, Suspicion and a Ball

**Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything you recognize – so basically she just owns it**

 **Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry**

 **That probably doesn't make up for my absence but I've actually just finished writing a book and have sent it out to a few agents – which has obviously taken priority. So fingers crossed about that**

 **Hope you all enjoy this chapter – since Lily and James have kissed tell me what else you want to see. Obviously their relationship isn't perfect yet and will be rocky for a bit before they build trust and all those nice things but I do want to focus a little on the other characters too**

 **JAMES POV**

With four more days of school left, Lily Evans kissing him, and no homework to boot – James felt as if he was floating on cloud nine. Even the teachers seemed to notice a change in him. On the second last day of school James was the first to stroll into first period Transfiguration, an ear splitting grin across his face.

"You know," Sirius said to a bemused Remus. "It's actually kind of sickening to watch."

"I heard Lily telling Marlene that if he didn't get his head out of the clouds she'd go back to hating him," Remus said, loud enough for James to over hear.

"Funny Moony," James said.

Professor McGonagall gave James a confused look, her eyebrows furrowing. "Take your seat Mr. Potter."

"Certainly Professor," James responded, sinking merrily into his chair.

Sirius snorted, taking the empty seat beside him best mate. "Way to go Prongs," he said. "You've finally managed to frighten McGonagall."

Much to James' surprise, McGonagall was glaring nervously at the two boys, her posture rigid.

Remus leaned forward in his seat. "She's waiting for a prank."

"Who are we pranking?" Peter questioned, dropping into the seat beside Remus. "Because I over heard three third years giggling about a end of term prank they'd planned."

"What?" James said, losing some of his elation. "Who?"

"Uh they were Gryffindor's, I think," Peter said.

Sirius snorted. "Helpful Pete. Really narrowed it down."

"Well maybe it's a good thing," James said thoughtfully; remember something Lily had said to him a while ago. He wondered what she would think of his next few words. "We should train them up – leave with our legacy in tact."

Remus frowned, his face skeptical. But before he could say something, Sirius butted in looking scornful. "As if anyone could live up to our legacy."

"We could always leave them the map," James put in.

"Yeah and while we're at it we should gift wrap your cloak and leave them a step by step guide on how to become Animagi," Sirius said sarcastically. He swotted his friend over the head. "C'mon Prongs, we went over this not even two days ago. Our legacy is just too big."

"It's not the worst idea," James pouted.

"And it's definitely not in your top ten either," Remus said.

"Anyway," Peter interrupted, looking annoyed that the conversation had strayed from his input. "It got me thinking."

The three boys turned to look at Pete, each with equal looks of interest and amusement. Peter's pranks – to put lightly – we're not always the best, or the safest.

"About our end of year prank," he said. "Since it's our last year and all."

Sirius nodded, a glint in his eyes. "It has to be big – the prank to end all –"

"Good Morning class." McGonagall's stern voiced echoed through the class, muting a few conversations.

James' glanced moved across the class. He'd only been away for one and a half weeks but so much happened at Hogwarts on a good day, that he could've been away for years for all the changes that had occurred. He noticed Alice sitting beside Frank, her eyes on the Professor. According to Remus the two went official four days ago. When he'd congratulated Frank the boy had gone red-faced, clearly flushed with happiness.

His eyes fell on Marlene next. Even though he'd seen her at St Mungo's nearly every day for the first five days, she'd failed to mention that her older brother – and James' cousin – and finally settled on a date for his wedding. The wedding was going to take place on the 30th of December, three days after the Hogwarts Winter Ball. James vaguely remembered Lily mentioning it to the prefects at the start of the term, urging them to start thinking of ideas. Apparently he'd missed the prefect meeting where they all finalized ideas and came up with a theme: masquerade.

Then, outside of Hogwarts, there were rumors of a rebel group fighting against Voldemort. This one confused James to no end, since the Ministry was still trying to hush over the severity of their situation. So, if it wasn't the Ministry of Magic fighting back – who was it? He'd discussed it with Remus last night, but the sandy haired boy was just as confused.

"Since this is the last class of term I will be assigning holiday work," McGonagall informed the class, causing most of her students to groan in despair.

James rolled his eyes as Lily just took their teachers words to stride.

"If she assigns group work I will hex her," Sirius muttered.

"I'll be allocating each of you are partner which I expect you to communicate with over the holiday," McGonagall continued, causing Sirius to draw his wand and Remus to hastily slap him over the head. Ignoring the two boy's behaviour McGonagall pulls a jar of chocolate frogs from under her desk. "If you we're to continue eating these frogs, the jar would continue to replenish itself. I want you and your partner to figure out how this is possible."

"It's gotta be some form of conjuration spell," Sirius said.

"Can't," James muttered back, frowning. "It's one of gawps laws of elemental transfiguration. You can't transfigure food from thin air or whatever."

"Dammit," Sirius said frowning.

"Maybe it's the Gemino curse," Remus inputted.

"But doesn't that make everything you touch multiply?" James said.

"Dammit Merlin," Sirius said again, rubbing his temple. "Trust McGonagall to set some kind of riddle as homework."

"It'd be a dead useful spell though," Peter said. "Maybe we could make a prank out of it."

"Okay," McGonagall said, after the chatter had died down. "I'm assuming you've all noticed the complications with this spell. I'll be allocating partners now."

Lily was partnered with Remus, causing both to smile. Peter was partnered with Frank. Alice was partnered with Alfie, one of Frank's friends. Marlene was partnered with Millie Green from Hufflepuff. And James was partnered – much to his surprise – with Sirius.

"Well this makes our lives easy," said Sirius. "Since we live together and all."

 **LILY POV**

"It's obviously got to be some sort of subtle spell," Lily said, piling her plate with sausages and a red salad. The dining room was bustling with the usual chaos that was expected at lunch.

"Yes so I've heard," Marlene said.

"And it's obviously not just as simple as transfiguring something into a chocolate frog," Lily continued, missing Marlene disinterest.

"Because it's being conjured out of thin air," Marlene said, repeating Lily's words from class.

"Exactly," Lily simply continued. "So maybe –"

"Urghh," Marlene groaned loudly. Lily looked up startled. "Your partner is Remus, not me."

Looking affronted, Lily puckered her lips. "Fine," she said. "But good luck with Millie Green. She has less brain cells than a tad pole."

Alice looked between her two friends, uncertain where the sudden animosity had sprung from.

Alice turned to Lily. "That's a bit –"

"Well then, pity Remus is always ill," Marlene snapped angrily. "Wonder if his excuse is going to work on you like it did me before."

Lily blinked. She knew the real reason for Remus' monthly excuses, but she wasn't low enough to just throw it in her friends face to get a rise out of her. Surprisingly, it was Alice who answered.

"Don't be daft Marlene," she said. "If Dumbledore has given him permission it's obviously true. Anyway, they say his mother's ill."

Marlene scoffed. "What was it Snape used to say to you Lily," she said. "Every month? And he always looks so pale and skinny."

Lily gawped. "What did I miss?" She insisted. "And why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you always deny my theory," Marlene snapped. "I saw Remus in the hospital wing – all covered in scratches and stuff."

"So do I Marley," Alice pointed out. "Besides, he told you he'd been dueling with Sirius, and you saw the state of Sirius, just as scratched. And come on – as if Dumbledore would ever let a werewolf come to Hogwarts. He would have to be mental."

"Alice," Lily gasped, looking mad. "They're fully fine when it isn't a full moon."

"Meet one lately?" Marlene said crabbily.

"Okay – what's got your wand in a knot?" Lily said just as crabbily.

"Lily – Marley!" Alice said loudly, drawing the attention of a few fourth years. "Okay firstly – Lily you're a muggleborn. You weren't raised to fear werewolves, like Marley and I were. They're horrible creatures – some even place themselves before their next victims on a full moon."

"If you're referring to Greyback then I'm fully aware of his methods," Lily said stoutly, "but I'm just saying not all of them are bad!"

"What are we talking about?" Sirius said cheerfully, throwing himself down near Marlene. The girl stiffened, shuffling herself away. Lily frowned at that. "Looks serious to me."

The other three marauders sat beside Lily. James leant forward and planted a kiss against her temple, smiling.

"Hey bug," he said.

"Bug?" Lily scrunched her nose.

"Yeah, like Lilybug," James said, piling food onto his plate. "I didn't peg you as a girl you would like nicknames like honey or suger."

"Correct," Lily said. "Good job Jamie."

Sirius snorted. "But seriously, I wanna know what you three were talking about," he whined. "Evans looked like she was about to bite McKinnon's head off."

"If you insist," Marlene said, eyeing Sirius. Lily couldn't for the life of her work out her expression. The two had gone from a relationship, from hating each other, to a rocky kind of friendship and now there was this new development. "We were talking about Greyback."

Remus shuddered.

"Who?" Said Peter loudly, leaning across his friend for the bowel of mash. Lily had a sinking feeling he was trying to cover Remus' sudden loss of color in his face.

Alice squinted, trying to figure out if the boy was serious. Marlene, however, had noticed Remus' slip and visibly stiffened. Her friend had gone from an open book to a chest of secrets in a matter of minutes.

"He's probably the most malicious werewolf in history," James explained, as if Peter was being serious. Marlene eyed her cousin curiously. "If I ever met him I'd stick my antlers so far up his rear end he'd be picking pieces of me out of his teeth for months."

"Charming James," Alice said, laughing.

James' mood seemed to rub away whatever thoughts were dampening Marlene's, and before long the seventh years were joking and teasing each other like usual.

"Come on you lot," Lily finally said, standing. "Potions time."

"If I ignore it will it go away?" Sirius moaned. Marlene snorted loudly, causing Sirius to glance confusedly at her, an uncertain smirk on his face.

The table rose, but when they reached the door James grabbed Lily's hand. "You lot go on ahead," he said, waving his friends forward.

Sirius winked coyly. Alice grabbed him by the collar and yanked him away before he could say something gross.

"Hey," James said, smiling at her.

Lily smiled back, a little breathless. The whole relationship thing was frighteningly new to her – in fact, she wasn't even sure if this counted as a relationship. So what? They'd only snogged once. It wasn't a marriage proposal or anything.

"So I wanted to ask you something," James said, sounding just as nervous as she felt.

It calmed her a little, knowing she made James just as anxious as he made her. "Uh yeah – go ahead."

"It's just the last time I asked you this – uh thing – you rejected me pretty harshly," James said; now grinning.

Lily felt instantly guilty. Her gut instinct was to rile up at his smugness, but she suddenly caught herself finding his confidence endearing. At least he wasn't running his hand through his hair – _ah, I talked to late._

"Well I promise to reconsider my answer," she said.

James laughed. "Well there's this Winter Ball coming up," he started.

"That I organized," Lily felt obliged to put in.

"Well there's this Winter Ball organized and run by this greatly obnoxious Head Girl," James started again.

"It's a start," Lily said, ruefully shaking her head.

James folded his arms over his chest. "Fine," he said, jokingly. "I won't ask."

"Oh no!" Lily pleaded, grabbing his shoulders. "How will I live? I guess there's only one other option left."

Much to Lily's satisfaction, James blushed. He pushed his glasses nervously up his nose, suddenly blinking much to fast. "Yeah?" he said hopefully.

"James –"

"Fleamont," James inputted.

"Fleamont?" Lily repeated.

"Fleamont," James confirmed.

"You know, I should've realized," Lily said giggling. "God I wished your parents had a bit more sense and named you Fleamont."

"What and have two Fleamont's in one family?" James said, raising his eyebrows. "Mum would kneel over in fright."

"So what?" Lily said. "You've got a father named Fleamont."

"Correct – now I believe you were asking me something."

"No this is much more interesting." Lily smirked. "So will your son be named Fleamont?"

"Now that is a sickening thought," James said good heartedly.

"Fine, fine," Lily said. "Okay so James Fleamont freaking Potter?"

"Yes Evans?"

"Would you like to go to the Winter Ball with me?"

"Certainly," James whispered, leaning close. "I'll be the one in the mask."

"I expect nothing less," Lily whispered back, her heels lifting from the ground. There was a string joining them, and someone was tightening it.

James pressed his lips against hers – soft and light and teasing – before drawing back, an ear splitting grin across his face. Lily looked at it, savoring the way she'd put that smile there.

"Potions?" James asked.

"If you insist."

"I also want to ask you about what Marlene was saying about Remus at lunch," James said as they started done the corridor.

It threw Lily completely off center. All she'd been thinking about was the warmth of James' smile and how nice his hand felt in hers, and this whole time he'd been thinking of Remus? She hated that the thought even came to her head – but had he just been buttering her up?

"Why don't you just ask her," Lily said sourly.

James hesitated. "I – did I say something wrong," he fumbled.

"I guess not," Lily said, feeling guilty. Was her gut reaction too far fetched? No – she told herself firmly. She had every right to be cautious, and her instincts weren't usually wrong. Right? "She wasn't saying much, just connecting some loose dots I suppose. She has her suspicion."

James loosened visibly. "I forgot that you knew," he said. "So did you convince her that she was wrong?"

"I might've made it worse," Lily said, then stiffening her shoulders she added, "and why shouldn't she know? Her and Remus are friends."

Lily knew they were already late for Potions but this felt like an important conversation to cross. James slowed, thinking her words through.

"You stood up for him didn't you?" James asked.

Lily winced at the look of contained irritation on his face. What was she supposed to do? Join in on their werewolf bashing? Remus was one of her closest friends, she wasn't about to hate on him for the sake of his secrecy – _oh god,_ Lily shuddered.

"Lily, look I'm not saying this in a negative way but you are a muggleborn –"

"Jesus! Not from you too," Lily exclaimed. "If I thought anyone would be against that load of dung it'd be you. I mean, you're clearly still friends with him."

"Yeah but I've bunked with the bloke since I was eleven," James pointed out. "I know how harmless he is. People hear the word werewolf and expect a monster."

"I suppose," Lily said. "And I understand were your coming from and all." It was irrational and startling, but Lily felt a sudden annoyance against her two best friends. There prejudice was completely based on societies construction of a werewolf. Both girls adored Remus – would it really change their perspective of him that much if they found out?

"It's his choice Lily," James said softly.

That, Lily thought, was firmly true. Lily just didn't think it was the right one. Smiling, Lily slipped her hand back into James' and led him towards class.


	15. Vernon Dursley and the night for spying

**LILY POV**

Howling wind and thunderous rain rocked the Hogwarts express as it hurtled towards Platform 9 ¾. The train was unusually quiet with most people staying at Hogwarts over the holidays because of the ball. Lily, alongside Marlene and Peter, had been ordered home by their parents for Christmas, with the promise of returning in time for the boxing day ball. Lily had a sinking feeling it was her parents way of forcing Lily to met Petunia's new finance. Not for the first time that morning, Lily found herself envying Marlene – at least her older brother's future wife was a decent person.

"It's your move Lily," Peter said, gesturing at the chessboard.

Lily eyed her pieces with annoyance. She was borrowing Marlene's set, and it was obvious that they didn't trust her judgment. She quickly glanced at Marlene – who was sitting silently by the window – before moving her rook to the left.

"Don't move me there!" The rook said indignantly. "Can't you see his bishop?"

"Yes," Lily growled at it. "But if their bishop takes you my bishop is free to take the queen."

"That's very obvious Lils," Marlene said, finally showing an inkling of interest in their game.

"Exactly," the rook said.

"Eghh – I'm sorry Peter but this game is so rigged," Lily said. "You win. I'd wipe the entire floor if we we're playing normal chess."

"This is normal chess," Peter said, frowning.

"Muggle chess," Lily said. "Whatever."

As if he'd finally given up on the girl's mood, Peter clambered to his feet. "I'm going to go sit with Frank," he said. "Have a good holiday."

Lily watched their compartment door slide close, her stomach curling into knots of guilt. Marlene just shrugged – but her shoulders relaxed a little afterwards.

"What's up?" Lily said.

"Nothing," Marlene retorted. "You?"

"Nothing too," Lily responded.

Both girls knew that their friend was lying but Lily couldn't for the life of her figure out what was causing Marlene so much anxiety. Marlene, on the other hand, had a growing suspicion that Lily was worried about finally meeting Vernon Dursley and how her sister might treat her over the holidays.

A stony silence fell between them as the train neared London.

 **JAMES POV**

"Should we start McGonagall's homework," Sirius asked, stretching his brow.

"Huh?" James responded, who'd been too busy wondering what he'd done wrong in his lifetime to have finally be able to get with Lily but then to have her go home for the holidays three days later. He had taken her down to the station, kissed her brow and promised he'd write, but it'd be a week before she returned for the ball. And then – just like his luck – as soon as she returned, he'd be leaving for his cousin's wedding.

"I knew that would get your attention," Sirius said, grinning. "As if Sirius Black would do homework on the first day of holidays."

"Oh are we referring to ourselves in the third person now?" James teased.

"Sure," Sirius said. "Whatever. I've actually got something to propose to you."

James cocked an eyebrow. The game of exploding snap between them was forgotten. "Should I grab Moony?" Both boys glanced at the boy in question, who was conversing with Alice on the other side of the common room.

Sirius sucked air through his teeth. "I don't think he'd approve," he said slowly.

James nodded. "Okay," he said, just as slowly. "But if Moony wouldn't approve, shouldn't I not approve? You know, Head Boy and all."

"I don't think Moony would morally approve," Sirius re-phased.

"Sirius, I dunno –"

"Hear me out Prongs," Sirius pleaded.

James nodded. "Fine," he said. "But if I disagree, you have to promise not to do whatever this is alone. Or," he added as an afterthought, "drag Peter into helping you."

"Got it," Sirius said, shaking James' seriousness off. "You better not be one of those boyfriends that basically turns into their girlfriend's bitch."

"We're not dating," James said defensively.

"Yet," Sirius said, waggling his eyebrows.

"Just get to the point Padfoot."

"Fine – well the other day I was coming out of the Room of Requirement with Darcy Hopkins – "

"What were you doing in the Room of Requirement with Hopkins?"

"Don't interrupt," Sirius said. "Anyway, we we're out after curfew so I had the map and I saw Dumbledore, McGonagall and Slughorn coming down the same corridor we we're on. So, naturally, I told Darcy to hide behind that tapestry – you know the one right? – and we waited for them to get closer."

James' tummy clenched – it was odd enough to see those three together during the day, let alone after curfew.

"Anyway I heard Slughorn complaining about one of the staff – Robinson or someone –"

"Robertson," James correct. "She teaches Ancient Runes."

"Not the point," Sirius said. "Did you know that Robertson also works part time at the Ministry?"

James gaped. The Ministry was trying awfully hard to make sure each of the Death Eater attacks didn't look to be carried out by an organized group, instead casting each death off as an accident, or an unfortunate mistake. But after one of the Aurors – Mad Eye Moody – had captured two Death Eaters and thrown them into Azkaban, James was positive the Minister would see sense. Apparently he hadn't.

"Okay," James said slowly.

"I couldn't figure out what was so bad about that at first – so for the next few days I'd been using the map to watch the teachers," Sirius told his friend. "And it's always the same few gathering together in random places. I dunno what to think, but you don't reckon Robertson is reporting back to the Ministry stuff the teachers say? And because of this, they can't talk to about Voldemort stuff in front of her."

"But why – unless you're saying that Dumbledore…" James trailed off, his eyes growing wide.

"Why not?" Sirius said, excited that James had caught on so quickly. "People say Dumbledore is the only one Voldemort is afraid of. It'd make sense for Dumbledore to be the leader of this rebel group."

"So say he is," James said, realizing Sirius still hadn't explained his plan. "What are you planning on doing?"

"We should start using the cloak," Sirius proposed. "And eavesdropping on their conversations. If Dumbledore's forming an army don't you want to join?"

James nodded firmly. "Of course mate, you know I do," he said. "But we haven't finished school yet. Don't you think Dumbledore would want qualified wizards?"

"I don't think he'd have many choices really," Sirius said. "Most people either work for the Ministry so are constantly being brainwashed to believe utter crap, and the rest are either Death Eaters or Voldemort worshippers. Then most people don't know what to believe."

"But that's the same here Padfoot," James said. "The only reason we don't believe the bullcrap of the Daily Prophet is because my Dad works is an Auror. All the aurors know that the Ministry is lying since they're the ones cleaning up after Voldemort!"

"Then we become Aurors," Sirius said pointedly. "Then we can join. I still wanna know about this secret army."

"I want to be an Auror too, but training takes years," James said. "And besides, there might not even be a secret army."

"Come on," Sirius whined. "I'm bored and it's the holidays. We may as well do something."

James mulled that over for a bit. The only thing that was holding him back was the horrified faces of Lily and Remus if they find out that he and Sirius had been spying on the teachers for information. He looked Sirius firm in the eyes, noticing just how rounded with anger they were. _The other two don't understand,_ he told himself. _We've both grown up in this terrible world. The other two have been shielded by their parents and their heritage._

"Fine," James said. "But we don't tell a soul."

Sirius grinned, slapping James on the shoulder. "Knew you'd come around."

"Padfoot, I'm being serious," he said. "No one can find out. Not Peter, not Remus –"

"And not Lily, yeah, yeah – I got your back."

"It's not just that but if this gets out, and if what you're saying about Robertson is true then we could be in serious trouble not only with Dumbledore for getting his secret out but with the Ministry," James said. "This stays between us."

Sirius held his hand out. James grabbed it and shook it firmly. It was about as close to an unforgivable vow to the two boys.

(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)(HP)

The first time round the two boys didn't have much luck. They snuck back into the dormitory – James had taken to sleeping in his friends' dorm again over the holidays – late one morning, exhausted and thoroughly annoyed. They'd followed McGonagall and Flitwick's dots around the castle for over three hours without ever finding them.

The second time had a similar effect. Dumbledore and McGonagall we're just as elusive – and at one point of the night their dots disappeared entirely. James had a sinking feeling they we're using the Room of Requirement.

After the fifth night – after following Slughorn, Sprout and Dumbledore around the first floor – James and Sirius vented out their frustration against Peter's empty bed. A mistake, since the loud noise of feet against wood woke Remus. He sat upwards, rubbing his sunken eyes. He clocked eyes with his friends, a flicker of hurt running across his face.

"Where have you been?" He asked them.

Sirius shrugged. "Prefects bathroom."

"For the past five nights?" Remus said. There was no mistaking the hurt in his tone.

"Well, since you and James have selfishly hidden its wonder from me I've taken my time to use every inch of it," Sirius said.

It was clearly the wrong thing to say and James winced. "Fine," Remus snapped. "Lie to me. But I distinctly remember asking you last year if you wanted me to show them to you and you scoffed in my face and told me to stop being a princess prefect."

"Look," James said, perfectly aware that Sirius was covering for him. Sirius had no qualms with telling Remus, but for some reason James didn't want him to know. "We've just been roaming around. You know – looking for secret passages and stuff."

Remus rolled his eyes. "You know what," he said, lying back down. "I don't even want to know."

 **LILY POV**

Lily stared at the piece of paper before her. It was nice to have a normal pen back in her hand instead of a school quill, but that didn't make writing her letter any easier. Lily clicked her pen a few times – frustrated – before tapping it against her teeth. A sheepish knock broke the silence.

"Come in," Lily said, glad for the excuse to stop.

Darcy Evans looked a lot like Petunia with her straight blonde hair and angular face. It was only her green eyes that Lily had inherited; the rest had come from her father.

"Petunia wanted me to tell you that Vernon will be here in fifteen minutes," her mom said. Then her eyes fell onto Lily's empty letter. "Writing to your friends?"

Lily shrugged non-committed. Her and James had kissed twice, but there wasn't any solid label to their relationship. They hadn't even been on a date yet.

"A boy maybe?" Her mom said sounding interested. She sat down on Lily's bed.

Lily groaned. "It's for Alice," she said. "Since she's stuck at school and all."

Her Mom smiled all-knowingly. "Okay darling."

"Mom!" Petunia screamed from down stairs. "He's coming up the drive now."

Mrs. Evans frowned at little, puckering her lips.

"Be nice Mom," Lily teased.

"I'm always nice," her mom scolded. "I just wish she'd chosen something with a little more – well a little more –"

"Manners?" Lily suggested. "Consideration? Kindness? Selfishness?"

Her Mom shook her head, smiling sadly. "You ask for too much in a man Lily."

Lily snorted, before realizing her Mom was being serious. She watched as her Mom left, mindlessly wondering what her mom had meant by that.

Vernon Dursley was a complete prat, in the opinion of Lily. Unfortunately the same could not be said of by Petunia. Lily had to watch, with a growing sense of disgust, as Petunia fawned over and showered her new fiancé with compliments. Although their Mom might've thought that Lily set her standards too high, Lily couldn't help wondering if Petunia had any standards at all. The only redeeming quality she could find in Vernon was his dedication to work, but after listening to him ramble on about the mechanics of drills for over two hours Lily was ready to scream.

"So Lily?" Vernon said. Lily choked on her spoonful of desert, shocked to see Vernon had finally decided to look at her with his beady eyes. _Maybe he thought that buttering me up would get him brownie points with Mom and Dad._ "Petunia here has told me that you are home schooled?"

The room couldn't have grown quieter if someone had pressed a mute button. Their Dad opened him mouth in shock, whilst their Mum stared at her oldest daughter, her lips pursed. Petunia, on the other hand, had turned scarlet.

Vernon had the decency to look abashed. "I'm sorry if I've brought up a touchy subject," he started, stumbling a bit. "I wasn't aware that Lily's schooling was an issue."

Petunia, maybe horrified that her fiancé was staring at her family as if they were all freaks, hastily sought out a new lie to comfort him. "It's fine honestly," she said. "Our parents are just over protective of Lily. She's quite simple minded – but –"

She stopped abruptly at the look of horror on Mrs. Evans face. Lily had gone cold. Of course her sister had managed to find the one man on earth how was just as disgusted by any behaviour that screamed freak. Maybe the couple was destined to be together. The rest of the dinner continued awkwardly, with Vernon shooting Lily a discreet glance every now and again.

Lily was so red with fury at her sister that when everyone was finished with desert she rose loudly to her feet and stuck her tongue out at Petunia. Petunia gasped – which was the reaction Lily was aiming for.

"Good night," she said, then stomped to her room.

"Lily –" her father started.

"Just leave her," Petunia snarled. "Leave her to ruin dinner."

"I think you've already managed to do that," her Mother said coldly. "Calling Lily simple minded, what were you thinking?"

"I hate to intrude," Vernon said, gaining only looks of frustration from Lily's parents. "But if Lily isn't simple minded then why is she being home schooled."

Both Mr. and Mrs. Evans were lost for words. The truth was even more complex, and not to mention forbidden to be spoken to Vernon.

"She's simple minded and weird," Petunia said firmly. "My parents just won't accept that her strange behaviour is because of some stupid mental disorder."

Back in her room, Lily flopped furiously onto her bed. _How dare her sister!_ She picked up her pen and a book to lean against. It wasn't James she wanted to write to anymore – how was he ever supposed to understand? It wasn't even Marlene or Alice. It was someone a little more unfamiliar.


	16. The Equation for Disaster

**SIRIUS POV**

For once in his lifetime Sirius Black found himself at breakfast before any of his friends. He was using the unusual moment of silence to see how many sausages he could eat before he was sick. He had a sinking feeling that James was acting all sulky because Lily still had written him. In all fairness, James hadn't written her either.

He stabbed a sausage, eyeing it with interest. He was almost positive he could fit the entire thing into his mouth. A loud screech drew his attention from his breakfast to a beady-eyed owl about two places down from him. A letter was tied to its leg.

"Well bring it here then," Sirius said with interest. He didn't usually get mail.

The owl hopped obediently towards him. Sirius untied the letter, folding it out neatly onto the table. His eyes instantly went to the name at the bottom when he failed to recognize the writing. _What in earth's name was Lily doing writing to him?_

 _Dear Sirius,_

 _I know you probably weren't expecting a letter from me anytime soon but I thought you might be able to help. James has told me about your brother, and well I don't know if he's told you about my sister but she's pretty much of the same mould._

 _I don't really know what I'm trying to ask here but its just so hard knowing that she hates me for something I can't change. It feels like Gryffindor vs. Slytherin but in my household. I guess I just thought you could relate._

 _Hope you have a Merry Christmas and I'll see you in two days._

 _From Lily_

Sirius folded the letter, thoroughly confused. There wasn't a question in there at all, but somehow Sirius felt obliged to send a reply. He had no clue what she was expecting from him. Sure he had his fair share of family issues but his answer had been to run away when it suddenly had become too much. If it weren't for the Potter family he'd be on the streets.

Sirius knew how it felt to be ostracized. To be yelled at for being different. He'd been beaten by his father, robbed of a normal childhood. But he'd never wanted to patch things over – of course he hated his situation – but he was a lot happier now, then he'd ever been before. And besides, his great uncle's will had only widened the gap between him and his family.

If Lily should be writing to anyone about this, it should be James. He'd comforted Sirius countless times.

"Whose the lucky lady?" James said, thumping himself down beside his best friend.

Remus took the seat opposite them, rubbing sleep from the deep bags under his eyes.

"What?" Sirius said, before realizing Lily's letter was sitting open on the table and James was already scanning the first line.

Sirius snatched the letter away, wincing. "Just another fan apparently," he lied. "Asking me to the ball. Unfortunately my heart is already taken."

Remus snorted. "By yourself I'm assuming."

"You wound me Moony," Sirius replied, almost in default.

If James had recognized the writing he didn't say anything about it, something that came as a huge relief to Sirius.

 **LILY POV**

If was an unfortunate coincidence that Lily's arrival – by floo powder – into McGonagall's office coincided with Marlene's. After their rather abrupt last conversation, Lily wasn't sure what to expect. A stern faced Marlene that offered Lily a brief hug wasn't one of them. The two girls smiled tentatively at each other.

"Good to see you Marls," Lily said, smiling.

"Same for you," Marlene said.

"Move along girls," McGonagall said, flustered. She ushered the girls out of her office and into a dim corridor. The ball was supposed to start in four hours, and Lily still had to run to the Great Hall and check on last minute decorations.

Feeling immensely guilty, and not sure why, she waved goodbye to Marlene again – wincing as her friend looked a little pissed off – before pelting towards the Hall. She hoped James had kept his word and had rallied the remaining prefects to help with the set up. If the ball was a success, her and James would be praised with compliments for the rest of the holidays – however, if it was a failure, well Lily shuddered to think.

She pushed through the Great Hall's doors, instantly beaming at the sight. James had – unsurprisingly – gone for a radiant gold theme, covering most of the surfaces in silky, gold material. Retro, Muggle disco balls hung from the ceiling, interspersed in-between the thousands and thousands of naked light bulbs. To the side three tressel tables – covered in black table clothes – contained neatly stacked glasses and bowels for the punch. A band was set up where the high table normally stood. Mistletoe hung in corners. Confetti canons where stationed by the doors. The windows were frosted over with patterned ice.

And standing among it all was James, Sirius and Remus with their team of prefects and a bunch of grinning first years. Sirius was the first to spot her, a look of apprehension on his face. He hadn't replied to her letter, but in all fairness he'd probably only received it yesterday.

James caught her eye next. "Hey Bug!" He called, waving her over.

He kissed her on the temple before brandishing his arm around the room, smiling at all his own handiwork. "Good huh?"

"Prongs did none of it," Sirius said solemnly. "You should've seen him yelling orders at the first years. Of course, they took none of it and naturally, I took the place as their innate leader."

"What are you trying to get at Padfoot?" Remus said rolling his eyes. "Did you have a good time at home Lily?"

Lily shrugged, glancing at Sirius. "Nothing out of the ordinary." Which wasn't an exact lie, but didn't really cover the extent of it either. "I should probably go and get ready."

 **JAMES POV**

James straightened his tie, looking at himself in the mirror. With his hair sticking up at all angles it looked like he'd just rolled out of bed and hadn't put any effort into tonight.

"Should I put some gel into it?" James said to the room.

"Depends," Sirius said, scratching his chin.

"On what?"

"If you're referring to your hair or something else entirely."

James snorted. "Moony? What do you think?"

Remus ran his hand through his own just as disorderly hair, looking more run down than normal. Vaguely James wondered if maybe tonight was a recipe for disaster. Ever since their conversation with the girls about werewolves, Remus had been more agitated than normal. Not to mention the fact that he knew both him and Sirius were lying to him about their midnight excursions around the castle to eavesdrop on the teachers. Then there was Sirius, who had lied to him at breakfast yesterday and was still certain that it'd been Regulus who'd attacked James. James still hadn't told anyone the truth about that fatal night – for many reasons, few which he had worked out.

Thirdly there was Marlene, who'd brushed James off in the common room and had turned sour at the thought any werewolves. He'd admired Lily for believing her friend to overcome her prejudices, but he knew better. The three variables felt like an equation from hell. He hadn't even bothered to give the Slytherins second thought, not with so much confusion in his own ranks. It felt wrong having so many secrets among them.

"You know it's a pity Peter isn't going to be here," James said, reluctantly accepting that his hair was going to be nothing but messy. "Would've been good to have the whole team."

Sirius snorted. "It's just a stupid ball."

"I suppose you'd rather it just be you and James under the invisibility cloak tonight?" Remus said bluntly.

"Is that what you think we've been doing?" Sirius scoffed, fixing his collar.

"Well since you refuse to tell me I've had to draw so conclusions of my own." Remus took a step closer to his friend, eyes blank.

Sirius face went blank, his hands in fists. "Oh don't talk so mightily you only sound stupid."

James leapt between them. "Come on," he said hastily. "Lets just head down to the Hall."

"Go ahead James," Remus said icily. "I've still got some choice words for this imbecile." He went to shove James away, an angry snarl escaping from his lips.

James froze, startled at the wolfish noise that had emanated from his friend. Sirius looked just as bewildered. Both boys backed away, not in fear, but from guilt. They both knew the toll Remus infliction imposed upon their friend, and here they were, at sides with him.

Remus shifted shakily at of his anger. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"No Moony," James said, resting his hand on Remus' shoulder. His friend shrugged out from under his touch.

"I'm a monster," Remus said bitterly. "What do you expect?"

"Come off it Moony," Sirius said rolling his eyes. "We all know you're not a monster. Don't let what Marlene and Alice were saying affect you."

"But –"

"Moony," James said firmly. "You fold your socks. I'm sorry we're not withering with fear. Padfoot's right. You've still got us, and you've got Lily to remember."

"Come on," Sirius said, grabbing Remus by the collar and pulling him along. "Or I'll forever be known as the miscreant you led the Head Boy and a prefect astray if we're late."

"I'm afraid you've already got that title," Remus said, some of the usual sarcasm returning to his voice.

The three boys marched down to the common room; grinning at the groups of boys they found waiting nervously in the stairwell, obviously trying to pluck up the courage to greet their date. He ran into one of his beaters – fifth year Thomas McFarland – slouched in the corner, his eyebrows creased.

"Who's the lucky girl?" James asked, nudging Thomas.

Thomas flinched. "Ahh hey captain – uh sorry what?"

"Whose the girl?" James repeated.

"Uh Holly," he muttered.

"Holly from the team?" James asked incredulously. Third year Holly Balderstone was the newest chaser on James team whose fiery temper always kept the team in high spirits. "Keep it mutual buddy. Don't jeopardize the team alright."

James barely seemed to realise that his words might've had a less than relaxing effect on Thomas, something Remus felt obliged to point out. James shrugged him off, in sudden high spirits. Who cares if all his friends were in sudden cahoots, he got to spend the entire night with Lily. He found her waiting at the bottom of the stairwell, her hair in curls around her neck and shoulders. She was wearing a gold dress that clung to her narrow waist and billowed silkily around her legs. She beamed up at him.

"Hey James," she said breathlessly. "And boys. Don't you all look dashing."

"Hey Bug," James said, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple.

"Hey Lily," Sirius said. "All alone huh?"

"That's what happens when you agree to go to the ball with the least punctual boy in the whole of Hogwarts," Lily said teasingly. "Frank was very romantic."

James laughed as Lily grimaced at the idea. "So who's taking my ass hat of a cousin?"

"She is," Lily said. "Come on, let's go."

The four Gryffindor's entered the Great Hall in a mixture of high spirits and nerves. The live band was belting out a song, nothing James was exactly familiar with. A few groups of students were huddled around the drink table, clutching jugs of Butterbeer as if they were life ropes. The dance floor wasn't even half full, but the couples dancing looked as if they were having fun.

"Well this looks like a bore," Sirius said grumpily.

James whacked him over the head, suddenly pissed.

"Come off it," Sirius complained, rubbing his head. "I was only joking."

James ignored him, turning to face Lily instead. "Want a drink Lils?"

"Lets go together," Lily said, sounding a little uneven. "Uh will you boys be –"

"They're fine," James said, sliding his arm into Lily's and ushering her away.

"What's going on between you lot?" Lily asked once she was sure they were out of earshot.

James felt awful with only giving her half of the truth, especially since it meant he was blaming Lily's friends for Remus' agitated behaviour. He just hoped he wouldn't pick up on his half-truth. "It's Moony," James explained, keeping his voice quiet. "The stuff Marley said really affected him. He's – well it's like we're back in second year all over again."

To his surprise Lily barely flinched. "Well Marlene's being stupid, isn't she? Blaming Remus for something he can't help. It's just as stupid as this whole pureblood mania issue." Her voice was rigid, stern.

James felt his heart leap. He reached out and tucked a strand of red curls behind her ear. "You're amazing, you know that?" He whispered. "Honestly."

Lily's gaze softened. "Your world would be a much better place if you let a few Muggleborns write a few new laws every now and again."

"You sound just like my father," James said, grabbing to glasses from the table and filling them with punch. "Always ranting on about the staleness of the Ministry. Says it needs some fresh blood."

In that moment James desperately wanted to confess his and Sirius suspicion, but that would involve delving into a whole array of secrets he was keeping from her, including his Dad's cloak and the Map.

"You think that's why the Ministry is trying to hush things over?" Lily asked curiously. She took her cup from James, looking inside it as if the answer might lie there. "Put off the fact that there probably will be a war and that it'll probably involve an overthrow inside the Ministry."

James shrugged. "There will be a war," he said shrewdly. "The question is what side will the Ministry take when it comes to it."

Lily shuddered. "I haven't told my parents, you know."

"It's probably best that they don't know," James agreed. "It isn't there war to worry about."

"But it will be," Lily said. "If Voldemort wins he'll want me dead." Catching James horrified expression she continued, "not me specifically but my kind – Muggleborns. Which means he's targeting Muggle families just as strongly. They'll have to know eventually."

"You know the Muggle Prime Minister knows," James said.

"Knows what?"

"About the Magical World," James explained. "The Minister for Magic keeps him up to date with Magical happenings."

"I didn't know that," Lily said. "I suppose it makes sense."

"Dad told me when I was a kid," James said. "He used to say the hardest secret to keep is one that doesn't belong to you. He used to think it was fool hardy to let the Prime Minister in on our biggest secret."

"Used to?" Lily asked. James didn't miss the admiration in her tone, and his chest filled with pride.

He shrugged. "He doesn't tell me as much anymore," James told her.

"Well he sounds – hang on," Lily said, distracted.

"What?" James said, frowning. He followed her gaze to the punch bowel.

"It's refilling itself," she said.

"Yeah McGonagall's doing."

"I so wish I knew how she does it," Lily said enviously.

James snorted. "I'm guessing that's why she set the assignment. You know – for us to learn how she does it."

"It's just – well," Lily said, lowering her voice. A mischievous glint filled her eyes. "DO you think it only works on food?"

"What – like do you mean it could also –"

"Work on other objects," she said, finishing his sentence. "Like letters."

"What?" James said, now thoroughly confused.

"Did you know if you duplicate a sealed envelope the parchment inside will be empty," Lily told him. "It's similar with – well say a gold cup. The Gemino Curse can only replicate the outside appearance, the inside is basically nothing."

"Are we still talking about McGonagall's assignment?" James asked, frowning.

Lily pursed her lips. Her eyes were creased in concentration, an expression that gave nothing away. It was frustrating to James, to be standing so close but to feel so apart from her thoughts. He had a sinking feeling that this was probably how Remus had been feeling for the past week.

"I dunno," Lily said truthfully. "I just – well I wonder if maybe McGonagall was trying to test us."

"Well of course she's trying to test us," James said. "That's the point of homework."

"I don't think our partners were random," she said. "She never partners you with Sirius."

"I guess –"

"Oi! Prongs!" Sirius yelled. James turned to see his friend shoving his way through a crowd of Hufflepuff fourth years. They each sent him angry scowls as one of their friends nearly toppled into a bowel of punch.

James knew that glance well. And, apparently, so did Lily.

"You're up to no good Black," she said.

"Of course am I," he said, pretending to look confused. "I have a reputation to behold tonight. And that reputation involved borrowing your boyfriend for the time being."

"I'm not her boy –"

"Whatever lover boy," Sirius said. "Tally ho."

James sent Lily an apologetic glance. She looked at him, wondering why he'd been so quick to deny any official relationship between them. He was smiling, almost cheekily, but his eyes were round and sincere.

"As long as it's not some stupid prank," she said. "He's all yours."

"Thanks Bug," James said, kissing her cheek.

 **LILY POV**

The dance floor suddenly felt like a much bigger place without James by her side. Maybe she should find Marlene and talk to her, since she was sure Alice and Frank wouldn't want to be interrupted. The safer option would be to find Remus but that almost felt like betrayal. Or cowardice.

She found Remus first, or more accurately, he found her.

"Hey Lily," he said. "Want to grab a seat?"

She nodded. Remus lead her to one of the tables at the back of the room, his shoulders slouched. Lily watched the boy who'd always rivaled her in classes, who'd stayed up late in the common room with her finishing off their Potions Essays. The boy who hadn't said one cruel word to her in six years. The boy who was best friends with James.

"Sirius found James, didn't he?" Remus said, looking resigned. Lily nodded. It was worrying to say the least that Remus looked as if he'd simply given up on reining his friend's in. "Don't worry – they're not pranking. Apparently."

Lily winced. "You don't sound so sure – don't you know where they went."

Remus shook his head. "Sometimes I feel cut off from them," he started. Noticing Lily's horrified expression, he quickly carried on. "Not like that – they've always included me. What I mean is that they're both from renowned Pureblood families. Fleamont Potter is on of the best Aurors the Ministry has ever seen, and Sirius' family is fully devoted to Voldemort. Some of his cousins and older relatives are in his inner circle. They hear things, know things. Understand things our families couldn't ever comprehend."

"I – I'm not following," Lily said uncertainly.

"If a war does start their families will be the first to know," he explained. "They're both on different sides, but both their families play vital roles. No one expects anything from our families – not trying to sound harsh or anything, but it's true."

Lily frowned. She still didn't get what Remus was trying to explain but she tried to sympathize regardless. In that moment she forgot about the surrounding crowd, about Marlene's anger and James' confusing behaviour. She drew Remus in for a hug, curling her arms around his bony shoulders.

"This looks cozy," a voice said from behind them.

Lily sprung away from Remus, eyes wide. Marlene grinned sarcastically down at them. She pointed a finger at Remus, her lips pinched. A cold wind seemed to filter around them, icing their bones.

"Marlene – don't," Lily whispered.

Remus shook out his shoulders.

"I know what you are," she said quietly.

"And?" Remus said.

His voice sounded broken and Lily wanted to scream. She couldn't believe Marlene – how could she ever accuse Remus of a monster, when he was nothing but kind to her.

"I don't think you're a monster, if that's what you're worried about," Marlene snapped. "But I don't understand how Dumbledore would ever let you come here. What if you'd bitten someone?"

"You don't think I'm not worried about that?" Remus said loudly.

But no one heard him over the music and the dim lights kept them hidden in the shadows.

"Oh don't give me that _crap!"_ Marlene nearly screamed. She lowered her voice considerably, rubbing her jaw. "If you're worried about biting someone imagine how everyone else will feel if they found out what you are! If you're so worried you're going to bite someone what does that mean – that you're not locked up on the full moon? That you're running around the grounds free? What?"

Remus paled. He'd let something slip, Lily realized. "I am locked up," Remus said quietly. "In the shrieking shack. That's what the Whomping Willow is for."

"Then what've you got to worry about?" She asked him.

"I did nearly bite someone," Remus admitted silently.

Both girls gawped at him.

"He'd figured it out, you see," Remus continued. "And Sirius thought it'd be fun to prank him – to introduce him to Moony."

"Severus," Lily whispered, remember something from fifth year.

Remus nodded. "If it wasn't for James I dunno what would've happened," he admitted. "Not everyone survives the bite."

"You're not a monster Remus," Marlene said. "But the werewolf is."

"Marley," Lily pleaded. "Please – this is insane."

"I'm not angry Lily," she said. "And I don't care that you can see past that. But you just don't understand. I'm sorry Remus."

With that she turned on her heels and vanished into the crowed. Lily sunk back into her chair, breathing heavily. She'd never been so confused in her life. She turned to look at Remus, who instantly turned his head – but Lily could've sworn she saw him wipe a tear away. Disgust and full of anger she stomped to her feet.

"Come and dance with me," she said loudly. She thrust her hand out. "I wanna know if it's true that werewolves are terrible dancers."

Remus smiled weakly. "Who told you that?"

"James," she said. "Come on I love this song."

"You don't even know this song," but he took her hand regardless.


	17. A Sticky Aftermath

Thanks to those who have reviewed lately!

Ryeflight – sorry that the marauder's haven't made themselves known to Vernon and Petunia yet but I promise you they will eventually

AshJaz – thanks for joining the story. As for your comments

James knows that telling on Snape isn't going to change anything. I know that might not make sense but as if see it all those Slytherin boys/girls had been involved and Dumbledore knows he can't expel everyone, especially because of who there parents are. I understand that your view is also right, but James does think he's protecting people by not telling

I reckon the girls are used to the boys antics honestly

Her parents were shocked at Petunia's comment

Soccerdiva – you're the best, I'm glad you're still enjoying it! Yeah, I'll get around to fixing James' Dad's name soon.

 **JAMES POV**

"This feels like a bad idea," James said wearily as he watched Sirius unfold his invisibility cloak. "Maybe we should just give it a rest for tonight."

Sirius gave James a stink eye. "Don't worry lover boy," he said. "I just want to check where Dumbledore and McGonagall have vanished to."

Reluctantly, James let Sirius throw the cloak over them, mindlessly hoping that they wouldn't be out here for too long. "I would rather just enjoy the ball."

"I don't mind going by myself," Sirius hissed. He looked ready to storm off. "Go back to Evans if she means that much to you."

"It's not just Lily," James said defensively.

Sirius tapped his wand against the map, muttering the password. He didn't bother replying, his expression blank.

"There," James said, pointing at a third floor corridor. Despite his guilt and annoyance at having to leave Lily, he couldn't help the curiosity that flooded through him. He still had his suspicions about Snape and his crew of Slytherins, and had a feeling that their recent actions and the weird behaviour from their teachers might be connected somehow.

Sirius seemed to notice the excitement in James tone as he grinned wickedly, tucking the map into his back pocket. "Looks like they were heading towards the armoury."

 **ALICE POV**

Alice slipt her hand into Frank's and pulled him onto the dance floor, laughing. She'd seen Lily with Remus – both smiling – but something in their postures looked off. As if they were trying to force themselves into looking happy. Frank complied, even squeezing her hand.

The novelty of having a boyfriend still hadn't worn off, but in the past week she'd become a lot more comfortable around him. He'd become someone she wanted to confide in – someone whom she wanted to know all her thoughts and secrets. Which felt entirely weird for Alice. She'd always been the quieter; more reserved one in her group of friends – usually listening instead of talking.

"Hey Alice," Lily said as the couple approached. She smiled at Frank. "Hey Frank. Having a good night?"

Frank nodded. "Thanks to you," he murmured. "Alice has been telling me about all the effort you put in."

Usually Alice would've smiled sarcastically at cheesy comments like that but she'd just noticed how pale and sad Remus looked. Then she realised that Lily was dancing with Remus – not James – which probably meant James and Sirius were somewhere together. And since Marlene had been avoiding Sirius more than usual lately, she assumed that Marlene wasn't with them. The situation felt very clearly off.

" – band wasn't my choice though," Lily was saying to a chuckling Frank. "Helga Shay suggested them, and well they were available."

"I knew you were lying when you'd said you loved this song," Remus said teasingly. Even though Alice didn't know Remus as well as the others, she couldn't have missed the blankness in his tone.

Even Frank sobered up from his smiling at bit. As if sensing the sudden awkwardness Lily quickly suggested they go grab a drink. Nodding a little too eagerly, Alice let Lily sweep her towards the drinks station.

"What's going on?" Alice whispered to her friend. She didn't want to risk glancing at Remus, but she could feel the two boys hovering behind them, hopefully just of out earshot.

Lily's face darkened a little. "Marlene," she said angrily.

"What?" Alice whispered, growing shocked. Marlene had a temper and she had strong opinions, but she wasn't usually outright mean or rude.

"I think I hate her right now," Lily muttered.

Alice wasn't sure what Marlene could've possible done to make Lily so mad, but they'd reached the drink table so she held back from asking. She poured them all a glass of punch, sniffing at hers suspiciously.

"Apparently there's fire whiskey in this," she said.

Lily eyed Remus. "Know anything about this?"

To both Lily and Alice's surprise, Remus seemed to grow offended at the idea. "Of course not," he said crabbily. He must've noticed the girl's expression since his face softened a little, something like guilt brushing his features. "You know I think I might go back to bed." He placed his cup down.

"You sure –"

"It's fine Lily," he said, pressing something into his words that seemed to reassure Lily slightly. "Promise. Night girls. See you round Frank."

Frank smiled. "See you mate." Once Remus was out of earshot he turned to Alice, a small frown between his brows. "That was weird."

"You don't think he's in a fight with James and Sirius, do you?" Alice asked. "I can't imagine what over."

Lily blinked slowly, as if she was starting to realise something. "Well…" she started, hesitant.

"You reckon this has got to do with their sudden disappearance?" Frank said. "Because I was wondering about that too."

"You saw them leave?" Lily asked.

Frank kind of shrugged. "I was with Sirius and Remus before," he explained. "Remus was telling us some story, and at first I thought Sirius was just being rude, I guess. I mean, he didn't seem very interested and was constantly glancing over at the teachers. Then he just interrupted Remus randomly, declaring he had to find James. At the time I was a little pissed at him, but now – looking back – I don't think he realised how rude he'd appeared."

"The teachers?" Lily muttered, rubbing her temple. "Why would he care about – hang on, what where the teachers doing."

Frank shrugged. "Chatting, watching us – I dunno, Sirius was the one super stalking them."

"Stalking?" Lily rambled, her eyes glazing over a little.

Alice knocked shoulders with her friend. "You know your glazing again," she told her. "Vaguely repeating our words doesn't make any sense to us you realise?"

"Sorry," Lily said. "It's just… weird. I can't make heads and tails of this night."

"How dramatic," Alice said sarcastically.

"You don't think they're up to something," Lily said. "Something against the rules, I mean."

Frank snorted, rubbing his temple. "I'd be more surprised if they were following the rules."

"But James has been so much better this term," Alice said worryingly. "They haven't pranked anyone, well aside from Snape…"

Lily let out a groan of frustration. "I seriously don't understand him sometimes," she said. "I mean first he has this theory of Dumbledore wanting us to keep an eye on the Slytherins during patrols because of everything that's happening outside Hogwarts and now he's off stalking teachers."

"Do you reckon that's why Remus is in a fight with them?" Frank suggested.

"What?" Lily said, more confused. Then her face smoothed over, and a careful expression softened her brows. "Oh – no, no I doubt that's the reason. Come on – let's go back and dance."

 **JAMES POV**

James scanned the map one last time before tucking it into his pocket. Dumbledore and McGonagall we're inside the armoury but the door was closed, meaning they had no way to get inside without drawing attention to the fact that doors couldn't open themselves.

"We should wait," Sirius said.

James couldn't disagree more. Their two professors could take hours, and by then the ball would be surely over. Then again, if Sirius were right about this Ancient Runes professor, they probably wouldn't want to draw attention to their sudden disappearance by vanishing for hours. He was starting to understand why his Dad said he was to young to understand some things – this whole war situation was confusing.

"If they're talking about some secret society it won't be when they leave the armoury dickhead," James said.

"Go then," Sirius snapped. "If I'm going to sit here for hours I'd rather do it without the – what the hell?"

James spun on his toes, peering down the corridor behind them. Coming towards them, shrouded in darkness, was Remus. For a moment James forgot they were invisible and went to wave.

"Seriously?" Sirius muttered. "Just keep quiet."

"This is mental," James hissed back. "Lets just tell him."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Finally," he said. "The wisest thing you've said all night."

James pulled the cloak off of them as Remus nears. It was a sign of how distracted Remus is – and not to mention how used he is to the boys antics – since he flinched as his two friends appear out of now where.

"Hey Moony," Sirius grinned.

James eyed his friend nervously. "What's happened?" He asked. "Why aren't you at the ball?"

"Funny – I could've asked you two the same question," Remus snapped.

"If you want to know you have to come under the cloak," Sirius said. "Like now."

It was then that James noticed the door handle creak, and the familiar voice of Dumbledore echoed through the wood. Without thinking, he flung the cloak over his two friends whilst Sirius ushered Remus to shut up. Remus rolled his eyes, obviously having connected the dots. Sirius and James had been stalking someone, but he hadn't expected that someone to be a pale faced McGonagall and a usually stern looking Dumbledore.

Dumbledore's eyes scanned the corridor, pausing for a moment too long on the three invisible boys. James stared back, wondering – not for the first time – if Dumbledore had super strength hearing and could hear James' heart banging in his chest. They watched, barely daring to breath, as their two professors vanished down the corridor.

Sirius was the first to sign a breath of relief.

"You've gone super stalker mode on the teachers?" Remus said sceptically. "And your first thought was to not tell me?"

"You and everyone else," Sirius said honestly.

"Well now I feel flattered," Remus said dryly.

"Well we knew you wouldn't agree with it," James started, before realising that explaining was only making things worse.

"So are you running after every teacher or is it only those two?" Remus asked. James was surprised to hear the bemused tone in his friend's voice, and wondered if maybe he'd cracked. His tone sounded too light.

"Sprout and Slughorn too," James said cautiously. "They're usually off a weird hours in weird locations."

"So have you heard anything interesting?" Remus said.

James suddenly recognised the tone and stiffened a little. Remus was mocking them. He knew damn well the two boys hadn't over heard anything worthwhile, and James had a sinking feeling he knew they wouldn't. It was silly thinking they'd overheard anything interesting – especially since it was Dumbledore they were trying to spy on.

Sirius clearly hadn't picked up on the tone. "Well not so –"

"That's not the point," James said defensively. "It's the fact that they're having these conversations around the castle – and quite regularly too. I mean, if they were discussing just how badly Padfoot was flunking his Potions they'd do that in the staffroom."

"Hey!" Sirius said. "I'm not flunking. I'm trying to prove a point to Evans."

"What that you can actually get a troll on your NEWTS?" Remus said. The mocking tone had vanished a little.

"Well yeah actually," Sirius said.

"But don't you want to be an Aurur?" Remus asked.

"Of course," Sirius scoffed. "I can't wait for the day when I start putting family member behind bars."

"You do realise you need at least an E in Potions to become an Aurur, right?" Remus said.

"Oh," Sirius said. Then he slapped himself over the head. "Goddammit it Evans."

James burst into laughter at the look of annoyance on Sirius face. After a few uncertain seconds, Remus joined in. He didn't fully understand why his two best friends hadn't told him about the teacher-stalking thing, but at least they'd based the decision on not wanting to put him in a conflicting position. Which was a completely bizarre, and unhealthy way of looking at it, but after all that had happened tonight he was glad to have James and Sirius back.

"This has been such a sucky night," Sirius complained.

"Come on," James said, grinning devilishly. "We have an after party to plan."

Sirius slapped his friend over the shoulder. "Finally," he exclaimed. "I was beginning to worry that Evans had changed you forever."

 **LILY POV**

Lily couldn't help but roll her eyes at the sight of the Gryffindor common room.

"So this is why you disappeared so suddenly?" Lily said to James.

James shifted on his feet. "Well not exactly," he started, but suddenly Sirius was behind him and Alice was tugging at Lily's arm, urging the couple to join them on the dance floor.

Lily giggled. "Its about time we fit a dance in Potter," she said, offering him her hand.

James looked at her, his eyes golden in the light. Lily felt momentarily speechless in that moment, her next remark lost. She let herself be wrapped up into James' arm as he spun them studiedly around the common room. A few younger students giggled as they passed, someone even wolf whistled – although Lily was positive that that was from Sirius.

"So what did you mean by not exactly?" Lily said.

"What?" James replied. Lily had the feeling he was trying to stall her, although she couldn't imagine why.

"You said not exactly before," she elaborated. "When I asked you if _this_ was why you'd vanished at the ball."

"Oh," James said. He looked away from her, hiding his eyes.

"James?" She said nervously. He looked flustered, his hands suddenly shaky on her hips. "Is everything okay?"

"Okay?" James repeated, sounding baffled – which only baffled Lily further.

"Yeah," Lily said.

"Uh yeah everything is fine?" James said. His words sounded like a question.

Lily wasn't sure why but she was suddenly filled with anger. The room seemed to blur a little, as if it was only them in the common room. She wanted to know where James and Sirius were when their friend was verbally attacking Remus. She wanted to understand why there were such prejudices against werewolves. And since she was being so honest with herself, she wanted confirmation on who had attacked James that night. If he just admitted that it was Snape, than Dumbledore would probably expel him.

"Uh Lily?" James said. He tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

Lily pushed away from him. "You're hiding something from me Potter," she hissed, instinctively reverting back to his last name.

James' eyes widened. He stumbled backwards a little bit, putting even more space between them. They'd danced themselves into a corner, and the music and talking and dancing seemed distant.

"Do you even know what happened between Remus and Marlene?" Lily snapped.

James' confused expression only added wood to her bonfire of fury. "He didn't say," James fumbled. "He didn't mention her."

"Are you and Black in a fight with him? Is that why you left the ball without him?"

"What? No!" James yelped. His stance sharpened a little, and some of his usual confidence seemed to return. "Padfoot and I have been doing something lately, and we didn't tell him. He caught on pretty quickly and got a bit shitty but we're fine."

"What didn't you tell him?" Lily said sceptically.

"We've been following McGonagall and Dumbledore around the castle," James admitted, lowering his voice. "Padfoot reckons they're forming something – a secret group maybe. And I'm starting to think he's right."

"A secret group for what?" Lily said.

"A group to fight against Voldemort," James replied.

Lily blinked, suddenly unsure. It seemed unwise, impractical even, to form a defensive group against Voldemort inside a school.

"Okay," she said a little unevenly.

"Okay?" James repeated incredulously. "Okay Lily? If a group is forming that must mean it's worsening out there, and that the Ministry is acting even more oblivious."

"Well do you have proof?" Lily countered.

"No," James said honestly. "But they've meeting almost every night – Sprout and Slughorn as well."

"Yes and just like that one night you just happened to know that Sirius was up in the astronomy tower," Lily said coolly. "You also happen to constantly know the teachers whereabouts?"

"Uh – we've been following them Lily," James said. He sounded nervous.

"Sure," Lily said, she hadn't meant for the word to come out cold but now that it was out she let the anger follow. She knew James had secrets – she wasn't stupid – and after catching each of their Patronus' in class she figured their nicknames had a bigger meaning. "Look James – I'm not trying to blow up at you –"

"Yeah we'll you sure sound like you are," James moodily interrupted.

Lily scowled at him. "You're not helping the case," she snapped. "Listen – you're stalking the teachers, whatever. I'm not pleased about it exactly because I'm sure it means you're breaking more school rules but for now –"

"You'll let it slide?" James said hopefully.

"Will you stop interrupting?" Lily huffed. She sucked in a deep breath, steadying herself. "I just want the truth, okay?"

"The truth," James breathed. He glanced around the common room, looking nervous. "Like what kind of truth."

"I just want you to tell me things," Lily continued. She had a feeling James wasn't fully connecting with what she was trying to imply, but she wasn't going to out right force the truth from him.

"Okay," James said, rubbing his chin. "Wait – hang on. Are we having one of those conversations?"

"If by that you mean conversations that don't involve lying then yes."

"No – well I mean yes, of course. But like you're trying to imply something aren't you?" James said. "If you want me to tell you something you can just ask. I'll answer truthfully, promise."

Lily shook her head. "I don't want to force you James," she said.

"But –"

"No," Lily said, holding up her hand. "Just –"

"What do you want to hear?" James finally snapped. "That in second year I single handily lost Gryffindor 150 house points? That Sirius and I used our brooms to fly into your dorm in third year to prank you and Marley? That in fifth year Peter and I convinced the house elves to serve desert for breakfast? That it was Snape that attacked me?"

Lily shook her head sadly. "I already knew those things James."

"Even the Snape one?" James said.

Lily nodded. "We all assumed you wouldn't tell because you we're trying to protect me."

Lily couldn't believe it but James actually scoffed. "That's not the reason," James retorted. He caught her expression and winced a little. "I –sorry that came out harsh. I just meant I hadn't told anyone because I knew Dumbledore wouldn't do anything about it, and it'd probably just make them more angry. I don't want to give Snape the satisfaction."

"The satisfaction! Snape almost killed you James," Lily said incredulously. "And what do you mean wouldn't."

"Couldn't, whatever," James said. "He can't expel all those Slytherins. Imagine the hell their parents would unleash. And besides, here at Hogwarts Dumbledore can monitor them. If they're out there they could do worse than just attacking me."

Lily couldn't believe her ears. "You're really nuts, you know?"

James laughed. "So you finally got all of that off your chest?"

Lily punched him lightly in the chest. "Watch it," she told him. "You're still on thin ice."

"Come on." James wound his hand into hers. "We're missing out on the good music."

THANKS FOR READING! ONE MORE CHAPTER FOR THE HOLIDAYS THEN ITS BACK TO SCHOOL TIME – REVIEW IF YOU WANT ME TO INCLUDE ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR AND I'LL TRY AND FIT IT IN!


	18. The Blow Up

_Okay so I'm getting a lot of confusion over the Snape/James thing. I'm trying to make the characters behave/talk/act ect how I think they would've. So obviously logical but slightly naïve Lily thinks that James should tell on Snape – but James has the whole pride thing going for him. Also I know that Snape doesn't have influential parents but imagine if Snape did get expelled? The other Slytherins are just as bad, they don't care, they want to join Voldemort as soon as possible. At least at Hogwarts, Dumbledore can keep an eye on them._

 _Hope that clears up any issues !_

 _ALSO sorry I was late putting this chapter up- im trying to do weekly updates but it'll more likely be fortnightly updates from here on what with exams and life_

 _Disclaimer: All belongs to JK Rowling_

 **MARLENE POV**

"Hey handsome," Marlene said, winking at her brother. "Today's the big day, huh?"

Henry McKinnon snorted. "You know how much I enjoy the spotlight."

"Oh don't be stupid," Marlene scoffed. "This isn't all about you." She playfully punched her brother.

Her brother gasped dramatically. "It isn't?"

"No, no, no," Marlene drawled, adopting their grandmother's stern voice. "It is all about maintaining the family image and developing social connections Marlene. It won't be long before you'll be walking down that isle."

Henry laughed. "So has our favourite cousin arrived yet?"

James was their only cousin since their father was also an only child. Marlene and Henry used to tease James about him only being their stupid little cousin but any thought of James reminded Marlene of Remus, and she felt herself cringe a little.

"What's that face for?" Henry asked. "Is he flirting with the bride again?"

"No," Marlene said, maybe a little too bluntly. Henry eyed her with concern. "It's just school stuff. Come on this is your day – we can't have your hair looking like that."

Marlene picked up a comb while Henry's hand instantly went to his mop of unruly curls. She brushed a lock aside, only to watch it spring back into place.

"Hopeless," she muttered.

"Are Lily and Alice coming today?" Henry asked.

Marlene nodded. She yanked through another curl, ignoring his wince. "Yes and apparently Lily's parents too since you invited them. You are so random sometimes. 

"I thought it would be nice," Henry said. "They've never been to a wizarding wedding before."

"Well they're definitely excited," Marlene said. "I saw them outside pointing at the self pouring bottles of champagne and the tray of canapés that refill themselves – say do you know how Mum did that spell?"

"No clue," Henry said, grinning wickedly.

Marlene had been trying to wheedle the spell out of her parents ever since she arrived home, but they'd clocked on pretty fast.

"Pest," Marlene muttered.

"And what about those other boys – James' friends," Henry continued; blissfully unaware of what had happened between her and Sirius. "Your boyfriend right? I invited them all."

"Ah," Marlene hesitated. She vividly remembered Sirius face when she pointed out that he'd cheated on her – or accused him, whatever. But lately she'd been having a feeling that maybe she'd falsely accused him, and frustratingly enough this new information was making her act even more abnormally around him. Marlene didn't think she liked Sirius again – like that – not after how she'd ended it, but her lingering feelings were definitely not feelings of anger or resentment or any of that stuff.

"Oh sorry," Henry said softly. "We don't have to talk about it right now."

She smiled fondly at him. "Come on – lets go get you married."

 **LILY POV**

Lily was still angry with Marlene – fuming with her actually – but she couldn't help notice how beautiful her friend looked in her bridesmaid dress. And it made Lily hate her friend even more, which was stupid considering Marlene hadn't done anything wrong – _this morning anyway._ Lily was wedged in between her parents during the entire service, constantly having to shush them and slap her father's arm every time he went to point at something.

"But the ring bearer isn't even carrying the ring," her father whispered. "Look – it's just floating before him."

"Do you want to get kicked out of your first ever wizard wedding Dad?" Lily groaned.

The service went smoothly, and soon everyone was back at the McKinnon's house for the after party. Lily had quickly shrugged her parents off – leaving them in the patient hands of Mr and Mrs Longbottom – before rushing off to find Alice.

"There you are elderflower," a voice shouted across the McKinnon's living room. A few curious heads turned to find the source of the voice, including Lily's parents. Sirius burst forward, sprouting a large grin. "Missed you at the ceremony."

"Yeah well I was trying to avoid someone," Lily said smiling.

"Yeah well I'm sure Jamie boy will find you soon," Sirius said. "Want to grab a drink?"

He offered Lily his hand, who – after not being able to find a reason not to – laced her fingers through his. She'd wanted to find Alice but, if she was being honest with herself, that might've been because she wanted to vent her anger at Marlene with someone. And even though she couldn't ever imagine herself opening herself entirely to Sirius, she knew he'd be able to get her mind off of things. Mindlessly she let Sirius lead her out to the middle of the McKinnon's living room and swing her in a circle.

"Something on your mind?" Sirius asked sincerely.

"Huh?" Lily blanked. "What makes you say that?"

"Well we are the only two dancing and most people are staring and you haven't whacked me over the head," Sirius told her.

Lily blinked. She glanced around the room, noticing that quite a few people were staring, but even more surprisingly she noticed just how little it bothered her. Which was new to her. She rolled her eyes at him.

"I haven't ruled it out yet," she said.

Sirius guffawed. "Come on buttercup – tell me what's wrong?"

Lily swept Sirius around the room, nearly causing him to knock over a vase of half bloomed, blood red roses. He stared at her, one brow cocked.

"What happened to Lily Evans?" Sirius said mockingly.

"Got an update," Lily told him, but her voice was measured.

"Okay now you're plain weirding me out," Sirius said. He slowed their dance, mindlessly nodding in the direction of a few wolf whistles from Marlene's older cousins. "This hasn't got anything to do with Moony does it?"

"Who?" Lily said.

"Remus," Sirius corrected himself. "Is this new Lily thing got to do with the whole Remus, Marlene shabam?"

"Not directly," Lily said. "More in a allegorical way."

"Lost me sugerplum."

"Do you actually use these pet names on girls?"

Sirius snorted. "As if," he said. "Although if I did I daresay it'd still work."

"James calls me Bug," Lily pointed out. "And don't be arrogant."

He choose to ignore her last remark. "Yeah but Bug isn't exactly – well it isn't exactly a cute name," Sirius said.

Lily shrugged. "I don't mind it." Then she seemed to realise what she'd just said – and thereby insinuated – and clamped a hand over her mouth, shocked. Sirius' "nicknames" were laughable, but James' new name for her was actually – well she actually liked it.

"What?" Sirius said clueless, looking over his shoulder. "Is there something on my face? Or has my hair gone flat?"

Lily chuckled. "You lose your charm when you say things like that."

"All I heard was "your charm"," Sirius chanted. "Glad to know it is being recognised."

"Prat," Lily retorted.

Sirius shrugged. "Come on – let's go sort out your issues?"

"What?" Lily said enraged. "I don't have issues –"

"The Marlene one," Sirius said loudly.

"Shut up," Lily hissed. Luckily for the two of them, no one seemed to be paying them any more attention. "Look even if I did have a problem with Marlene at the moment I don't want someone else involved in it. And besides, it isn't really something she did but more of someone she was raised to be. I can't go criticising her for something her parents and your stupid wizarding norms instilled into her."

"Come off it Lily," Sirius said.

"What?"

"Don't tell me the Muggle world doesn't have stupid biases too? Don't go shaming the wizarding world," Sirius said. His voice had taken on a hardened quality, and Lily suddenly felt a hundred times smaller than Sirius.

"Sorry," she mumbled mindlessly. Her mind was still spinning, trying to peg all of the things Sirius was saying to her together. Was he implying that what Marlene had done – the things she'd said – were all forgivable? "So you're saying I should forgive her?"

"I dunno," he said. "Well I mean eventually yes. It was just instinctual to her. But if she isn't heavily regretting her words then you're not going to be the only one who is mad with her."

"Ugh," Lily moaned. "I swear you just make things more complex."

"Default mechanism," he said, winking. "One of my many charms."

 **JAMES POV**

James marched into the McKinnon's kitchen, frustrated. He'd been looking for his cousin, ready to congratulate him and instead had endured countless high fives and slaps on the shoulder from the many, many Hogwarts students that were here. One of the definite downsides of pureblood families where how they were all inter-related. News spread way to fast. His new relationship with Lily was still sparkling new to him, and he was starting to hate how everyone also knew about it. And besides, he wasn't even sure he had a relationship with Lily yet. They'd only kissed once, and he'd stuffed it up royally.

Groaning, he went straight to his Uncle's liquor cabinet.

"What do you think you're doing?" Marlene questioned. James hadn't noticed her leaned up against the sink, a glass of something that didn't look like Pumpkin Juice in her hand.

"I'm of age," James retorted.

"Bit touchy are we?"

"What are you doing Marlene?" James said, finally turning to face his cousin properly. Her face was scrunched up in a frown and her fingers were trembling slightly. All together it was quite an unnerving sight.

"Nothing," she said. "Having a breather."

"No why are you picking on us?"

"Us?" Marlene repeated. She turned her stare to the floor.

"Yeah first Sirius, then Remus and now me," James said. "I'm guessing you're saving Peter for next week."

"I didn't pick – I'm not picking on you," she said nervously. Her expression wavered.

"Fine," James said. "Deny it. I'm not in the mood to start pointing out flaws."

"You're angry at me?" Marlene whispered. James was astonished to hear her voice waver. The last time he'd seen his cousin cry was when he'd finally outflown her in a family Quidditch match when they were eight.

"I'm angry at how you've treated my friends," James told her. Feeling a little guilty at the blatant accusation in his words he added, "you can fix it though."

"I know," Marlene muttered. "I know Sirius didn't cheat on me, and I know that Remus is still the same person but –"

"You hate change," James pointed out. "You hold grudges for like ever. And you're a tiny teensy bit prejudice."

Before Marlene could reply, the kitchen door slammed open and Henry glided in, a huge smile on his face. As soon as he saw the two seventh years the gleam in his eyes died down a little bit. He glanced between them, instantly noticing the drinks in their hands.

"You're missing the party," Henry said. His words were slurred and his body swaying a little, but there was something in his voice that made James feel instantly guilty. The door slammed open again and Sirius burst in, dragging a half laughing, half angry Lily. He slowed instantly at the scene.

"Uhh," Sirius started.

"You're more than welcome to raid Dad's liquor," Henry said. He pointed at James and Marlene. "These two already have."

"See," Sirius beamed, dragging Lily into the spotlight. "I told you he wouldn't mind."

Lily smiled hesitantly. James smiled at his two friends, wondering what they'd been talking about to have allowed Lily to be dragged by Sirius towards the hard liquor. Then he realised the smile hadn't been directed towards him, but Marlene and he cringed a little. Now wasn't the best time to confront Marlene or make peace or whatever Lily was planning on doing. He'd definitely rubbed his cousin the wrong way, and she was bound to fire up at the smallest thing.

"Wow," Henry said. "Talk about the elephant in the room."

James – thinking it was probably safe to leave Sirius alone with Marlene – asked Lily if she wanted to dance. Guiltily she looked at Sirius – was she asking for permission? James paused, wondering what he'd missed.

"Okay I am leaaaa-ving," Henry sang.

As soon as he was gone, Marlene folded her arms and glared at Sirius and Lily, almost daring them to both start an argument.

"What's going on?" James said.

"What? Now you're playing the naïve fool?" Marlene hissed. "Leave if it's bothering –"

"I don't think he was talking to you," Sirius interrupted her evenly.

Marlene blanched. James was surprised to notice the blush that stained her cheeks. "I –" She started softly, uncertainly even.

"How about we play a game," Sirius said.

"Really?" Lily snapped. She stepped away from Sirius, her face furious. "This was your freaking idea?"

James blinked. "What –"

"No," Lily shouted, holding a hand up. She pointed a shaking finger at her pale-faced friend. "You messed this up. First you blamed Sirius for something he didn't do, then you completely destroyed Remus for something that isn't even his fault! And you're not even feeling guilty or upset about it!"

Marlene pushed off of the bench, slamming her drink onto the bench. "Shut up," Marlene screamed. "You think you're so perfect, that you have everything worked out. You can't even wrap your selfish little brain around how others might be feeling."

"Marlene," James said in a low tone.

"Let her finish," Lily said sharply. Her voice was too even, too neutral.

"You think your life is so hard, don't you? Oh no my sister is marrying a complete dickhead. Oh no the Slytherins keep picking on me. Oh no my best friend is actually a death eater and he tried to kill the boy I keep stringing along. Poor you."

James couldn't believe the words that were blurting from his cousin's mouth. And, even worse, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about it. He'd never heard Lily complain about her life before – ever – she was always so composed and carefully. But despite all of this everyone seemed to know about it anyway.

"Okay kinda was expecting this to go in a different way," Sirius said, scratching his head.

"Shut up," both girls screamed.

Sirius blinked. Lily and Marlene both wore matching expressions of frustration and annoyance.

"I never asked for the Slytherins to hate me," Lily told her best friend.

"I know," Marlene whispered. "Merlin's beard do I get that. And I didn't ask to feel this way. It's inexcusable what I said to Remus – and I feel terrible every day about it."

"Then why don't you apologise?" Lily said.

"Because it won't change anything," Marlene said, her voice wavering. She rubbed something from her eye. "Those things that I said – in the moment – I meant them. I really hated him in those few minutes. My Dad – if he ever found out…"

"Found out what?" Lily pressed.

James' hand trembled around his drink. He brought it to his lips, throwing back a huge swig of fire whiskey.

"My Dad's brother was killed by a werewolf," Marlene told her. Lily gasped, her hand spasming. "When Dad was nine. Isaac was eleven."

"I'm sorry –"

"Don't be sorry I didn't even know him," Marlene snapped. "But Dad told me stories about him. He would make up stories for Henry and me and the villain was always a werewolf. I'm not trying to find an excuse it's just that when I found out I felt like I was a kid again – scared of Dad's stories, scared of the werewolf."

"Maybe if you told Remus this?" Lily said.

"What tell him that there's another person out there that hates his very guts even though he's never met him," Marlene scoffed.

"You owe him some sort of apology," James pointed out.

Sirius nodded in agreement. "He'd want to here your side – "

"Will him?" Marlene growled.

 **LILY POV**

Lily fiddled with her wand, rolling it between her fingers, staring glumly at it as if it might sprout some intellectual answers. Nothing. The porch lights fizzled above her. She could still hear the party roaring inside even though it was nearing two in the morning. The Marlene's house was like something from a fairy tale.

She imagined their house to be a huge castle. And the McKinnon's to be very well renowned Ladies and Lords. Lily wasn't a peasant exactly, but more of a commoner amongst them. Most of the families were connected in some way – cousins, Aunts, parents, siblings, newly weds – just like most Royal families. Earlier in the night Alice had pointed out that she'd never seen so many Purebloods gathered together.

The thought had striked Lily as worrying for some reason. But it also gave her a weird sense of loneliness. She wasn't even sure how to describe it – she loved being a Muggleborn, loved having a loving, if sometimes dysfunctional, family to return to. She loved having the escape. After she tore apart her friendship with Snape, the Muggle world comforted her. But there was a definite sense of exclusion, of missing out on something vital. There were blood connections in that house stronger than iron, but there was also a steel thread connecting each and every single person.

"What are you thinking about?" A voice asked from behind her.

Lily was so startled out of her thoughts that she nearly toppled over the porch. She spun around to find James looking curiously down at her. Without saying anything, he sat down beside her, an unreadable expression on his face. Lily wasn't sure if he was upset, nervous, mad or – scared? It was unsettling.

"What are you doing out here?" Lily asked.

"Having a breather," James responded instantly.

Lily wasn't so convinced, but if he were checking up on her wouldn't he have just said so? Then, she had interesting thought. She wasn't exactly sure if it was wise to bring up what was probably another touchy subject, not after what had happened between her, Marlene and the boys. James' world wasn't only just small and interconnected, it was probably claustrophobic and suffocating at times.

"Just say it," James said. His words were blunt, but he seemed to realise since he added in a softer tone, "you don't have to censor your thoughts – around me, I mean." He turned away from her, flustered. "I mean, I want to hear what you are thinking."

Lily nodded slowly. "It is a bit –" She hesitated, unsure. After Sirius had reprimanded her for insulting the Magical World, she wasn't too intent on doing it again. James nodded encouragingly, weirdly eager. Or maybe he just wanted to get the talk over with. "Suffocating. It's suffocating in there."

James blinked. "Wait. What?"

Lily instantly froze. He wasn't having a breather because he found his family and friends too suffocating – why would she even think that – he was having a breather because of Marlene. "The thing that's happening between Marlene and Remus and Sirius. It's suffocating."

James didn't look too convinced by he nodded anyway. "It's my fault," he said. "The way she got so mad. I wound her up before."

"Why on earth would that be your fault James," Lily said sharply.

"Because I snapped at –"

"So did I," Lily interrupted. "We all did. I don't hate her, but I think I did in there."

"Yeah," James mumbled.

"Urgh, I'm sorry," Lily said, clambering to her feet. "I'm ruining your cousins night. I know it's late but do you want to grab something to eat, I'm starving."

James nodded, taking the hand Lily offered him and following her inside. It didn't feel awkward, Lily realised, even despite the fact that she'd thrown herself onto him days ago. She wasn't sure how it felt – his hand was gentle but a little too warm, soft but also calloused. It felt comfortable – nice. She smiled, a blush creeping across her face. It felt right.


	19. The Monthly Slumber Party

Here's the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy – it's mainly fluff but it's a bit different to what I normally write about.

MsCaitlinL = I hope you will want to read this chapter three times! That's amazing, thanks so much for you comment.

Guest = I'm so sorry for the grammatical errors, sometimes I just get lazy with my editing but most of the time I get confused with which one I'm supposed to use. Hope this chapter is better edited.

LILY POV

It felt weird being back. It almost felt off.

Lily trudged straight to the Heads Dorm, determined to avoid that nights dinner. At the beginning of the school year she'd dreaded having to share a space with James Potter, and now – here she was – practically jogging to hide herself in their dorm. Who would've guessed?

Usually the drama subsided over the holidays, everyone went there separate ways and returned whole-heartedly relaxed and excited. But now was different. Marlene had always been friends with Sirius and James, and Lily had always been close to Remus but over the last term their groups had kind of merged, and suddenly they were blowing up all over the place.

It was horrifying just to think of all the awful things Marlene had said to Remus. It was horrible to see the tension between Sirius and Marlene. And Lily felt awful for not being able to do anything about it. And then there were the things she didn't know – the things people were keeping from her.

"Lemon drops," Lily said to the portrait.

"Good holiday dear?" The portrait replied.

Lily grunted.

"Sometimes the best form of action is no action at all," the portrait said whimsically, before swinging open and welcoming Lily inside.

Pondering the portrait's advice Lily hurriedly rushed towards a scarlet sofa, throwing herself down and propping her feet up onto the coffee table. Deciding the warmth of the fire would feel better on her bare feet Lily kicked off her shoes. Then, figuring that maybe the portraits advice was beneficial, Lily was determined to ignore James and Sirius suspicion, and whatever had gone down between them and Remus. She thought about Frank and Alice instead, her toes curling with happiness.

She was given about fifteen seconds to bask in their cuteness before the portrait door opened and all four Marauders streamed in, grinning and laughing. Lily watched them, her chest suddenly tightening.

"Oh hey Lily," Sirius said, spotting her on the sofa. "You skiving the feast to?"

Lily nodded, the tightness in her chest now restricting her throat.

"Well good thing you're friends with us," Sirius said, dumping a huge basket of food onto the table. "We're ditching too."

The four boys all took seats, Remus smiling brightly at Lily as he took his place beside her. James quickly kissed her on the top of her head before rushing over to the food and passing out platters of deserts. He handed Lily a plate of chocolate pudding. It was easy, carefree.

"Desert?" Lily choked out.

James' brow crinkled a little at her tone but he nodded encouragingly. "Tradition," he said. "Desert first, dinner last."

"Peter started it," Sirius called, kicking his shoes off and flicking them at the door. "In like second year or something. When we found the kitchens."

Peter shrugged his shoulders. "Actually the House Elves suggested it."

"You did asked to be surprised though," James said.

"I asked for a surprise breakfast!" Peter said, laughing. "Not a surprise desert feast fit for ten people."

"I don't know what you're complaining about," Sirius said, going to punch his friend. "You finished it all anyways." Peter danced out of the way, nearly knocking his plate of food to the floor.

"Worth it though," Peter called, picking up a pillow and pegging it at Sirius. Lily couldn't help laughing as it whacked an unaware James right in the face.

His eyes instantly went to hers, widening as she laughed. He smiled broadly, a cheeky grin swallowing his entire face. "All right," he said. "You're on." He grabbed a pillow and rugby tackled Peter to the ground.

"I'm afraid that they're all actually seventeen," Remus muttered to Lily. "Regrettably."

"I hadn't realized," Lily said soberly. She hadn't looked Remus in the eye yet – and was nervous to do so. She didn't know what to expect – sadness, anger, acceptance? She could feel him staring at her.

"Lily?" Remus said.

Lily shook, her fingers suddenly growing hot. Why did she feel so guilty? She hadn't made Marlene say those things? It didn't even make sense – Remus was less mad than she was. Maybe that was it – it was just so damn unfair.

"Stop beating yourself up over this," Remus said, his voice now sounding a little sad.

Lily turned to face him, scanning his skinny and exhausted face. When was the last full moon? A few days ago? Or was it weeks ago and was now rapidly approaching? How did he feel when he was all alone, waiting to transform? Lily could imagine him shivering the in the darkness and it filled her heart with anger. If anyone didn't deserve this it was Remus.

Lily forced a smile. "I'm actually mentally beating Greyback up over and over."

Remus smiled sadly, leaning back into the sofa. His eyes strayed to his three friends as they chased and tackled each other across the room. "I don't blame Marlene, you know?" He said evenly. "I mean, I could – I could be really mad at her but I want to give her time."

"You're giving her the benefit of the doubt?" Lily said disbelieving.

Remus nodded. He raked his fingers down the sofa's armrest. His eyes flickered across Lily's face, studying her. As he did it his features softened, the sadness in his eyes vanished a little.

"There are more people out there that hate my kind than people that don't," Remus said.

"That doesn't make it –"

Remus shook his head. "Peter was scared of me at first, you know?" He told her. Lily's eyes widened. She'd never heard the story of how the three boys found out – or even how they'd reacted. "They guessed in second year. I reckon James might've known before, or at least suspected. But he never said anything. They asked me about it in second year and I just told them. It was such a relief, not having to lie anymore. James and Sirius were fine with it – they even thought it was cool having a werewolf as a friend. But Peter was scared. He didn't say anything, he admired James and Sirius way too much for that, but he acted a little differently. He didn't talk to me for a bit, and sometimes he would flinch when I came to near him."

Lily could imagine them – four twelve year olds – learning about their friend's secrets. And she didn't even blame Peter for acting how he did, since he'd obviously changed his mind dramatically. And besides, they were twelve, and boys to boot. Not strong in the emphatic compartment.

"What happened?" Lily asked.

"He grew out of it I guess," Remus said. "And he apologized. It wasn't easy for him to admit it – Sirius paid him out afterwards – but he did it anyway. He was even the one to suggest in third year that we –"

Remus' eyes went round, his sentence abruptly stopping. He didn't even bothering covering up whatever secret he was about to reveal – he was that shocked. Lily studied him, her curiosity arousing.

"Suggest what?" Lily carefully pressed.

"He was the first to suggest Monthly Slumber Party," Remus said lamely. His eyes darted towards Peter who was pressed against a wall, frantically trying to work a way around James' and Sirius' advance.

Lily first heard about Monthly Slumber Party from Marlene, who'd managed to wheedle it out of Sirius when they were dating. All she knew about it was that the Marauder's would plan pranks and pull an all nighter. She couldn't see the link between _that_ and Remus' condition. Then again, judging by the way he'd instantly clamed up Lily doubted what he was about to say was as innocent as a sleepover. Then again, it was pretty embarrassing considering.

"Is tonight the night?" Lily said.

Remus nodded, some of the coloured having returned to his cheeks. Lily tried to convince herself that it was fine – Remus had never lied to her before. She settled back in the couch, pushing away the nagging feeling. How badly she wanted to pick at that can of worms, to unearth each Marauder secret. Alice would tell her such thoughts were unhealthy, but right now she couldn't care less.

"So you just talk about pranks all night?" Lily said, sounding doubtful.

Remus hid his surprise neatly. "Errr, I guess."

"And the desert first thing is part of it," Lily said, trying to piece together the mystery that was the Marauders.

"Yeah," Remus said. He rubbed both elbows, glancing around the room. "I know it sounds stupid but –"

"I didn't say that," Lily said, musing over how she and the girls didn't do such things together. In fact, their dorm was usually divided in two – Mary and Poppy, and Lily, Marlene and Alice.

"No one knows about it," Remus said. It was clear what he was insinuating.

"I won't tell," Lily said. Who would she even tell? Marlene had already told her and Alice. She barely even spoke to the other two girls. How come the Marauder's were all so close? Surely she should know more about Poppy and Mary – blimey she'd lived with them for six years. Did that make her ignorant? Rude? Selfish?

And now what was she doing? Wallowing in self pity? Draw yourself together Lily, she thought firmly. In that split second she made a resolution – to fix what had gone wrong. How specific Lily, she thought sarcastically. She wondered what Alice would say about her internal brain arguments.

"I've got an idea," Lily declared.

She blinked out of her daze to find four boys staring at her quizzically. It took her two seconds to realise she wasn't in her dorm and it wasn't Marlene holding back a sarcastic smirk or Alice smiling encouraging.

"Good stuff," Sirius said, perching himself on a seat. "Does it involve the Giant Squid?"

"What? No," Lily said.

"The Whomping Willow then?" Sirius quipped.

Remus sent him a sharp glare, which Peter didn't seem to notice. "Or maybe a Thestral," he continued obliviously.

"No," Lily exclaimed. "It's not a prank."

"Hang on then," Sirius said, glancing at James who was smiling softly. "Who even invited you to the Monthly Slumber Party?"

"Ahhh," Lily said meekly.

"I did," Remus piped. He glanced at Sirius, almost daring him to disagree. "This group needs another voice of reason."

"Was that an insult?" Peter said.

James laughed. He looked at Lily before rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. There was something smug about his posture that Lily couldn't quite figure, but it was also disarming and Lily couldn't think of anything to say. She felt a weird rush of affection.

"I was going to suggest New Year resolutions," she said. Before Sirius could scoff or Peter could laugh she quickly added, "before we discuss an epic prank."

"Alright, I'll bite," Sirius said, which surprised Lily. Was he faking his eagerness, or was it genuine? "We talk rubbish then you help us with our prank."

"Fine," Lily conceding, wondering what she was getting herself into.

"Sure you're up for it Evans?" James teased, winking at her.

Lily hid her nerves behind a bright smile. "Never been surer."

"It means staying up all night," Peter warned her.

"I know," Lily said boldly. She was surprised to realise she actually looking forward to it.

"Ok so resolutions," Remus chimed. "Group ones or individual."

"Group," Sirius said instantly. "I've got a few prime suggestions."

"We should write these down," James said. "We'll keep them here too, for privacy and such."

"I'll scribe," Peter offered, getting up to grab a piece of parchment and one of James' multiple quills that were scattered among numerous surfaces. He dipped the tip in the inkwell and wrote across the top MARAUDER & LILY'S RESOLUTIONS. "So I guess Lily can go first," he said, glancing up.

"Uh," Lily started.

"Start big," Sirius said. He rubbed his hands together.

The way he was looking at her – encouragingly and honestly – seemed to quell any worries that maybe her ideas would be scoffed at, or seriously judged. There was nothing too big, too daunting to them, which was strangely comforting.

"Well ideally I would want to stop the Slytherins from – "

"Acting like dicks?" Sirius chirped. He pointed a finger at Peter, "jot that down Wormtail. Moony you're next."

Remus glanced around the room, hesitant. "Give me a second."

"Fine," Sirius said. "Prongs?"

"Marlene," he said.

"Hang on, don't just write her name down," Sirius said, distractedly waving a hand at Peter. "What about her?"

"I think she needs two resolutions," Lily said. The four boys glanced at her with worried expressions, and Lily realized that might've been a little harsh. "Ok well firstly we need something like a werewolf appreciation thing."

"I don't want that resolution," Remus said firmly.

"Okay fine," Lily said, suddenly feeling angry. It wasn't her place to press, but Remus was adored around the school. Younger years always approached him for tutoring help, and last year – when they were both prefects – most of the Gryffindor's went to him for advice or help. He was kind and approachable and truthful. If they just knew, then maybe they could help raise his confidence. "Ignore that issue. We need to fix Marlene's issue with Sirius."

"She has an issue with me still?" Sirius gawped.

"She like didn't for a bit then now she suddenly does again," Lily said. She obviously wasn't making any sense since Sirius was still looking confused. "Gah, fine, whatever. I give up. Sometimes the best form of action is no action at all."

"Good this was a weird idea anyway. So are we still doing the prank?" Sirius quipped.

"Definitely," Peter chirped.

"Hang on, what other resolutions do you have?" James asked. "All we have is," he glanced down to the paper before Peter and rolled his eyes, "get rid of all the Slytherins and convince Lily to dock one million house points from them."

"What?" Peter said, faking innocence as James started roaring with laughter.

"Wouldn't you have a better chance convincing me?" James said, still guffawing.

"Not the point," Peter said. "Imagine Evans trying to find a plausible reason for taking away one million house points in front of McGonagall and Dumbledore."

"Fair point," James conceded. "So anymore suggestions?"

The question was obviously aimed at her, but Lily felting herself freezing up. When she imagined voicing her remaining resolutions it involved her, Alice and Marlene huddled on a bed in their dorm, surrounded by Chocolate Frogs and Celestina Warbeck muffled in the background – she had not imagined herself surrounded by four boys with a huge serving of pudding and scattered pillows and feathers dotting the room. Lily quickly ran through them in her head to see if any were speakable:

Talk to Severus

Confront Severus about attacking James (i.e. face her demons)

Sort out her feelings for James (talk to him about their kiss?)

Find out more about Remus' infliction

Find out what Remus was actually about to say

Learn every marauder secret

Figure out why Dumbledore has been holding secret meetings all over the castle – that seemed important

Figure out how James knew Sirius was in the Astronomy tower that night

Lily skimmed the list over in her head and blanched. Why had she even suggested this idea? "Well," she said unevenly. It was all or never right? "I want to find out more about these secret teacher meetings."

Sirius gasped dramatically. "Are you feeling okay?" He said, leaning forward with his hand as if to check her temperature.

Lily swotted him away, frowning. "I feel fine," she told him.

She noticed that James was watching her curiously, his expression unreadable. He then glanced at Sirius, as if unsure as to whether he was allowed to speak or not. A weird silence had settled over the room, and Lily felt as if she was crossing some kind of line. Remus was scowling a little, Sirius was smirking but somehow managing to look uneasy and Peter was frowning.

"What theory are you running with," Lily pressed, when it became clear no one was about to speak.

JAMES POV

"How do you know about that?" Sirius questioned her, his face hard. James knew the expression well – he was smirking and his face probably appeared eager to Lily – but Sirius was actually nervous.

Lily gasped, her face growing crimson. It was adorable, and highlighted her freckles even more. Her eyes flickered to him, an instant giveaway and he waited for the brunt of Sirius' anger. Lucky for both of them it never came.

"You really can't keep your mouth closed around her, can you prongs?" Sirius said, losing his pissy expression.

James shrugged. "We reckon Professor Robertson is a Ministry Spy. We reckon the Ministry is aware of Dumbledore's secret group and is using her to learn more about it."

"But Roberston has been teaching here for years," Lily said.

"Well we don't reckon her main goal is to be a spy," Sirius pointed out. "It just was a lucky coincidence she also had a Ministry job."

"Why does it need to be a secret though?" Lily pressed.

James could practically see the cogs moving in her brain, both processing the information and trying to make sense of it. He knew their theory seemed bizarre, and very far-fetched, but it was worth considering further. James knew from experience that if you wanted to hold a secret meeting, you did it in the middle of the night when everyone was sound asleep.

"The Ministry is patching up everything," James told her. His voice sounded bitter and he noticed Lily frowning at the tone. "They don't want everyone knowing about Voldemort."

"But why?" Lily snapped. Her hands were balled in fists, her eyes wide with frustration. "People need to know." She paused, shakey. "People need to prepare."

"We know Lils," James murmured gently. He hated seeing her so worked up, but her passion was intoxicating and matched his perfectly. There was a solution in her bright head and it was so goddamn unfair that she'd never have the chance to voice it to those with the power to implement it.

"I think Dumbledore will tell you two about it," Remus said abruptly, as if the thought had just occurred to him. Both Lily and James spun to face him, their faces mirror images of surprise.

"What?" James said at the same time Lily said, "Seriously?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "You're both Head Students," he said soberly. "And he's trusted you enough to keep an eye on the Slytherins," catching their confused expressions he elaborated – "you know, by upping your patrols."

"A theory that you four made up," Lily said, but she didn't sound so sure. She frowned, her thoughts unreadable. To James it almost looked as if she was thinking about something that made her frustrated and angry.

"We haven't actually seen the Slytherins doing anything wrong lately," James pointed out. "Well," he corrected, "anything more wrong than normal. You know, for Slytherins."

"Well put Prongs," Remus said sarcastically.

"Did you understand me?" James said.

"Well, yeah," Remus replied.

"Then your comment was a moo point," James said.

"Moo point?"

"Yeah," Sirius said. "Like a cows opinion. It's meaningless. It's a moo point."

James grinned at the frown on Lily's face. She turned to look at Remus, her eyebrows raised. "It worries me that that actually makes sense."

"How are you surprised? I'm usually a fountain of sense," Sirius said, kicking his legs up onto the coffee table.

"What about that time you thought it would be a good idea to skinny dip in the black lake?" Peter said. "How many detentions did we get?"

"A perfectly reasonable number of detentions considering," Sirius pointed out.

"Well at least you agree with the severity of your punishments," Lily said. She placed her bowel of pudding onto the table, her dark hair slipping off of her shoulders and into her face. James watched, mesmerized. "Alright boys, I'm going up to bed."

"No, no, no," Sirius said, grinning. "The Monthly Slumber Party is an all-nighter."

"You're joking?" Lily said.

"Definitely not," Sirius told her. "We have a prank to plan."

"No way am I getting involved in one of your pranks," Lily said.

"How can you say no when you have no idea what it is we have in mind?" Peter pointed out.

Lily gave him a pointed look, one that James' easily recognized as her are-you-stupid look. "Because nine times out of ten what you have in mind gives me considerable grief."

"Well maybe we'll beat the odds," James said, unable to help the mischievous grin that spread across his face.

Lily blinked, her face blanking. Then her eyes zoomed onto James' mouth and something inside him stirred. The look in her eyes was blazing, her cheeks crimson. He could hear Remus snorting, and he could only imagine the look on his face. Lily blinked again, this time a few times rapidly, before rubbing her eyes and pushing her hair back.

"What the heck was that?" Sirius said.

"What was what?" Lily said, and James groaned. He recognized the look on Sirius face, and the next words from his mouth would either be something dirty or something graphic.

"All that – that sexual tension," he said.

"Sexual tension?" Lily scoffed, but James could've sworn her voice hitched a little. "C'mon I thought we had a prank to plan?"

As usual Sirius seemed to have a thousands ideas already and he eagerly offered them to his friends. Peter listened enthusiastically, nodding and "ooohing" in the right places (apparently) since Sirius was lapping up his support with earnest. Remus was scowling, but occasionally he would add something here or there. That's how it always worked – Remus pointing out how everything could go wrong and all the detentions that would accumulate, then he would tweak parts to make them more over the top or more dangerous or more extravagant. Lily was just listening, her expression growing more and more confused and shocked. Usually James would be right in the middle, culling Sirius' more stupid ideas before they could get out of hand (or before he could convince Peter to do it with him) but he still felt sort of dazed.

Had he imagined the look in Lily's eyes? It was the first time he'd seen her looking at him – at anyone – like that. He couldn't even describe it, all he knew was that he liked it – a lot.

"So you think it will work?" Sirius asked, and James realized the question was for him.

"I think it sounds like a lot of effort and research," James said. Because it did – it involved a huge amount of magic. But if Lily was actually going to help them… "I'm in."

"Great. We'll need your transfiguration skills. Pete?"

"As long as I'm not the one casting the spell," he said.

"You disperse the charmed objects," Sirius said. "We'll give you the map. Moony?"

"I think this will be a fiasco," Remus said. "Luckily I have the book we need in my room."

"You do?" Lily finally inputted.

"Light reading probably," Sirius said. "Don't ask. You in Evans."

"I think this is stupid," she said truthfully. "What if someone gets hurt?"

"You're supposed to say: 'wow, that's just crazy enough to work'," Sirius told her. "Otherwise you just hurt my feelings."

"Incredibly, chance does seem to bend itself to his bizarre machinations," Remus said.

"That's his superpower," James offered.

"His superpower is luck?" Lily said skeptically. "He's lucky."

"The luckiest," Sirius quipped.

"Fine," Lily groaned. "I'll help with the transfiguration."

 **LILY POV**

The prank was stupid. Not to mention time wasting and time-consuming. She should be polishing off McGonagall's homework. That was a nifty piece of charm work. She'd been partnered with Remus – which was a nice sentiment – but since she'd hadn't seen much of him over the holidays, and when she did it wasn't in the best circumstances, she'd done most of the work herself. Besides, he hadn't mentioned it so she suspected he'd done the same.

"Good thing we have all these pieces of parchment," James said, dropping the stack of old notes onto the desk. Lily snapped back into focus, the sound of James' voice like a perfectly tuned radio station. "I'd hate to have my bed transfigured into something like a spoon."

"I'd like to think that's were we'd draw the line," Lily said.

"You'd hope," James said. He sounded sincere, which was worrying. "Padfoot is a perfectionist when it comes to pranks."

The word gnawed at Lily's mind. She hadn't really accept James' explanation that their nicknames were because of their patronuses, since she was pretty sure they'd been calling each other that since fifth year. Why was she so damn eager to find out?

"I think this essay on the benefits of gillyweed in medicines can be an inkwell," James said, waving his word.

The inkpot was perfect.

"Damn," she muttered.

"Feeling competitive?" James teased. He waved his wand a second time.

A damn near perfect fork.

"Oh you are on," Lily said, picking up her wand.

The pile of objects grew before them at a frantic pace, each less perfect than the last as the two students got more and more clumsy and messy with their spell work. When James' hairbrush still sported his mark from a charms essay (An acceptable) Lily snorted and her piece of parchment burst into flames.

"Merlin's beard," Sirius shouted from across the room. "Keep it together."

"It's under control," Lily said, frantically trying to douse her flames.

"Is that why everything's on fire?" Peter teased.

"C'mon," James reasoned, dousing the flames with ease. "It's nearly four in the morning. And Lily's new to these all-nighters."

Was he defending her against his friends? Weird. What was even weirder was the weird rush of affection it gave her. She suddenly wanted to hug him. Weird and weirder.

"Here," Lily said, shoving the pile of spoons, forks, ink wells, hairbrushes, perfume bottles, goblets, quills and socks towards the three other Marauders. "Charm them."

While Lily and James had spent nearly two hours transfiguring parchment to ordinary objects, Remus had been teaching Sirius the charm that was vital to the pranks success rate. Without it the ordinary objects would remain ordinary. And then they would most certainly be a waste of her time.

"You can probably go to bed now," Remus said teasingly.

"Oh I plan too," Lily said.

This feeling was frustrating. She flung herself onto her bed, exhausted and thoroughly confused. She desperately wanted to talk to Marlene – who she knew would have an answer – but she was still mad at her. She could talk to Alice, but when it came to feelings the blonde girl was just as useless as Lily. Great, great, great.

She was in for an uneasy sleep. She just hoped the Marauders prank – _their_ prank – wouldn't backfire tomorrow.

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS LONGER THAN USUAL CHAPTER. Tell me what you think the prank will be! Also, tell me if you liked Lily/Marauder interactions or if you want more just Lily/James interactions.


	20. The Dark Lord Rises

Hope you enjoy this chapter. It was going to be fluff but then it suddenly turned out a lot darker. I hate writing in the war, but then I can't just ignore it. Please tell me if it's too much. And remember to write a review! Reviews = motivation to write fast just saying.

 **JAMES POV**

"Hey – James!" Benjy Boot shouted, chasing after James as he made his way towards the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Oh – hey Benjy," James said, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "What's up?"

Benjy Boot was James' keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, but he was also the 6th year prefect so James was constantly seeing the kid. James was eager to see their prank in action so he'd decided to head down to the Great Hall at seven. Remus had also thought it would be a good idea if they didn't all arrive together – they'd been busted that way before.

"About Quidditch practice tonight," Benjy started. "You actually scheduled me on for patrols at the same time."

"I did?" James said, stifling a yawn.

"Yep, do you think you could find someone to cover for me?" Benjy quipped.

James nodded wearily. "Sure."

"Cool. Thanks. I think we have a good chance beating Ravenclaw," Benjy said. "I mean, of course no one blames you for what happened but since we technically had to forfeit –"

That caught James' attention. "What? I thought the game was cancelled. McGonagall promised a re-match."

"Well the Hufflepuff captain got mad," Benjy explained, looking apologetic. "Since McGonagall was going outside the rules. He said it wasn't fair that she was being biased."

"So how many points did they give Hufflepuff?" James said indignantly.

"Only one hundred and fifty," Benjy told him.

James opened his mouth to complain further but suddenly he felt a firm hand grab onto his collar and yank him backwards. He was so surprised he barely fought back, and thankfully so because when the hand eventually let go he was standing in front of McGonagall's office and the professor was glaring angrily down at him. James smiled meekly.

"This prank isn't funny Potter," McGonagall said sternly, her dark eyes crinkled with frustration. "So far I've been transported to the Hufflepuff common room, the kitchens and Merlin forbid the boys bathroom on the sixth floor."

James just managed to stifle a laugh. He couldn't believe Peter had the nerve to put so many objects in McGonagall's office.

"It wasn't me," James said instinctively.

"You know I don't appreciate lying Potter," McGonagall said sternly. "Now I figured you put your transfiguration skills into play here and you obviously roped Lupin into charming such objects." James thought that was a bit unfair – Remus was the one who'd suggested the Portkey charm.

"I haven't even seen Remus since the train ride yesterday," James told her. 

McGonagall frowned. "Just know that I know," she warned him, before ushering him out.

Bewildered, and slightly bemused, James headed back towards the Great Hall. It was always a nice feeling when their pranks worked out, but their reputation was starting to precede them. A bunch of first year boys could set a dung bomb off in the girl's bathroom (about the extent of the boys pranks during their first years) and the Marauder's would probably cop the blame.

"Potter!"

James whirled around, a lie ("it wasn't me professor") already formed on the tip of his lips. He was therefore momentarily speechless when he saw Lily chasing after him, her hair tied back in a messy ponytail. He waited for her to catch up before saying hey.

"I've changed my mind," Lily said, ignoring James' greeting. She scanned the corridor nervously.

"About what?" James said, only halfheartedly, since his mind was elsewhere. Had she always worn her hair like that?

"About the prank," Lily said as if it were obvious. "We're going to get in so much trouble for it if the teachers find out."

James struggled to stifle a laugh. "I don't think you should worry about it Bug."

Lily eyed him suspiciously. "Don't you think it's going to be very obvious what's going on when people start disappearing all over the place?"

"Well yeah," James said. "But isn't that the point?"

Lily blinked, pausing for a second. "I guess," she said slowly. "But what if somebody gets hurt? Or in trouble? Peter told me he'd put some in the girl's bathroom. What if a boy ends up in there?"

James couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.

"It's not funny James!" Lily snapped. "If someone lands in detention because of me –"

"It'll be fine Lily," James said, trying to keep his face blank. "McGonagall already knows about it. She won't put people in detention because of it."

"What? She knows about it?" Lily said, looking pissed. "Is she mad at us?"

James rolled his eyes. "I didn't tell her you we're involved," he said. "She doesn't even know for sure, she just assumed. As she always does."

"I knew we shouldn't have done it," Lily snapped. "You're Head Boy and Remus is a prefect –"

"If you didn't think it was a good idea then why'd you even get involved?" James snapped back. She was glaring at him as if he was the one who'd dragged her into it.

Lily's eyes went wide as if she hadn't even considered her reasons till now. His anger vanished a bit at the confused expression that coloured her face. She wiped imaginary dirt off of her hands before answering.

"I don't know. It was fun." She glanced up at him. "I was having fun."

James was momentarily stunned by her answer. Lily had always gotten along with Remus, sure, but James had just thought their friendship was tied together by their battling to be number one in class. Then they'd both become prefects and the competition had only heightened between them. He'd never imagined Lily being able to get along and have "fun" with Sirius and Peter too. It made him unexplainably happy.

She was smiling a little so James thought he'd push his luck. Their relationship needed defining – desperately. He just didn't know how to bring it into a conversation. "You seemed sad before," he said hesitantly. "When we first saw you."

"I suppose," Lily said.

"Was it about Marlene?"

Lily nodded. They'd reached the Great Hall, but before James could make his way inside she grabbed his wrist. He spun around instantly, his eyes going to her fingers.

"James?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it okay if I continue hanging out with you and the others?" She said the words as if she was scared of his answer, which only made James want to pull her into a hug.

"Of course," he said, taking a step closer to her. She glanced down at their feet, only inches apart. "But don't you think you should talk to her?"

"Yes."

"But you're not going to?"

"Not right now, no."

"But soon?"

"Maybe."

"How soon? Like a few days soon or a few months soon?"

"How ever long it takes."

"That's such a girl answer."

"Shut up."

He took another step closer – close enough that he could feel her breath on his face. She smiled, but there was a look of hesitation in her eyes.

"About this," she murmured.

"About what?" James replied, a little dazzled.

"This," she said, gesturing to the tiny space between them. "What is this space?"

"Nothing. It's just empty space," James said.

"Don't be daft," Lily snapped, but the smile was still there.

If it was up to him he'd be calling her his girlfriend, but he didn't want Lily to think he was rushing into things, and he definitely didn't want to scare her away again.

"What about we make it our space?" James offered. "So only I'm allowed to get this close to you." He took another step closer so nearly everything was touching – their feet, knees, stomachs, chest and almost foreheads.

"Okay," she whispered, pressing her forehead against his.

"What?" James said, something light and fluffy spreading through his entire nervous system.

"I said okay," she said. "Don't be daft."

"One more time?"

"Okay James."

"What about no space?"

"Huh?"

And then he was kissing her, his hands going to her face, his body closing the rest of the space between them. And she was kissing him back. Just as passionately. Just as frantically. He slipped one of his hands down to her waist and pulled her even closer. She murmured against his lips and James' heart nearly skipped a beat. It was better than their first kiss – warmer and softer and faster.

"So you love birds finally sorted your crap out?" A voice said from behind James.

Lily sprung away from James as if she'd been electrocuted. Frank – and two of his Hufflepuff friends – started laughing.

"Busted," the boy on Frank's right – Alfred – said. "Also – cough up Oliver."

"Two galleons was it?" Frank said to his friend. "Rough."

"You had a bet on when James and I would kiss?" Lily said, looking both confused and angry. "I don't even think I've talked to you before." She must've realized she sounded rude because she hastily added, "asides from in class and stuff."

"Lily, Lily, Lily," Oliver said, shaking his head. "The whole of Hufflepuff has been beating on you two for almost a year now. Same with a few of the kids in Ravenclaw."

James snorted. "Don't people have better things to do with their time?"

"I'm going to make almost eleven galleons on this bet," Oliver said. "What's not a better waste of time?"

"Great," Lily groaned.

"Well the bet still depends," Frank said, winking at James.

"On?" James said, still grinning. He thought the whole thing was just a funny joke, but Lily was still looking a little pissed off.

"If you two are an item or not?" Frank said.

"Oh," James said. They still hadn't _specifically_ defined that yet but he hoped it had been implied between them – and then sealed with that kiss. Surely.

"We are," Lily said.

"We are?" James said, grinning.

"Yes you idiot," Lily said, cupping her hand as if she was about to whack him over the head.

James deftly dodged out of her reach, turning to cock his head and wink at Frank. "Yes we are," he said, still grinning manically. He probably looked stupid but he couldn't care less. Lily was his girlfriend. Girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend!

"Good luck with him," Frank said, rolling his eyes. "You coming or leaving breakfast."

"Coming," Lily said. She pressed her palms against James' back and started pushing him towards the Great Hall's main doors.

"Hey," James protested.

"Oh shut up," Lily said. James thought he heard a smile in her voice.

"At least we now knows who wears the pants in your relationship," Frank called after them.

James flipped him off, which only caused Alfred and Oliver to laugh harder. He craned his neck and saw Lily smirking, her eyes scanning the Gryffindor table for a seat.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" James said.

"Partially," Lily replied instantly.

She ushered James towards an empty space, and slid herself beside him, her hands grabbing the bowel of scrambled eggs before she'd even sat herself down fully. Sniggering, James grabbed a slice of toast.

"I'm hungry," Lily said. "I only had pudding last night. And minimal minutes of sleep." Her tone sounded a little competitive to James.

"Oh yeah?" James said. He grabbed the plate of sausages and dumped six onto his plate. "So am I."

Lily gave him the stink eye before piling four pieces of toast onto her plate. She started buttering the toast. James smirked, grabbing the bowel of baked beans and smothering his sausages in a mountain of the gooey beans.

"That's gross," Lily said. She'd piled her toast with scrambled eggs and steamed spinach.

"That's gross," James said, crinkling his nose in disgust.

"It would taste better than yours," Lily said. "Beans and sausages? Disgusting."

"Fine," James said, smirking. "Swap yours with mine."

"What?"

"We'll see whose is more disgusting. Swap them please," James told her.

"But –"

"Huh uh! Mine is grosser," James declared. "Knew it."

"That's not even what we're arguing about!" Lily said, sounding incredulous.

"It's not?" James said, now confused.

"No," Lily said, rolling her eyes. She cut a corner off her toast and eggs and piled it into her mouth. "Not even close."

"Great," James groaned. "I'm already losing my memory."

"You can't be losing your memory," Lily pointed out. "You're only seventeen."

"Goooood morning," Sirius called, dropping into the empty space opposite them. He glanced at their dishes and snorted. "Yuck. Either you've lost your taste buds or the House Elves skills have seriously been damaged."

"Whose is grosser?" Lily asked innocently.

Sirius blinked. "Easy. Lily's."

"What?" James whined. "You're meant to say mine."

"Why?" Sirius said. "You two are being weird. Moony tell James he's being weird."

Remus – who was talking to Lucy Abbott – glanced his way and scowled. Sirius scowled back and turned to James with a grumpy look on his face. James couldn't figure out the look on his friends face, but he recognized the girl Remus was talking to and grinned.

"You remember Lucy Abbott?" James said, prodding his friend. "Right?"

"No," Sirius scowled.

"Isn't she the girl Remus has a crush on?" Lily said.

James nodded. Lucy was a seventh year Hufflepuff who Remus had invited to their small gathering in the Heads Common room last during the first few weeks of Seventh Year. Nothing had really happened because of the minor blow up that had occurred, but James was happy to still see his friend chatting with her. Hopefully it would also perk up his friend from the slump he'd been in since Marlene.

Sirius scowled even harder at Lily's words.

It irritated James a little that Sirius seemed pissed off at the idea of Remus having a crush, but knowing Sirius he probably wasn't even listening to their conversation.

"What's got you so grumpy," James said, stabbing a sausage and dipping it into the baked beans.

"Nothing," Sirius said, glancing up. "Has anyone suffered from our prank yet?"

"McGonagall," James said, sniggering. "Three times."

"What?" Lily said. "You didn't say that!"

He words were drowned out by Sirius' roar of laughter. "Did she get the boys bathroom one?" He demanded, snorted.

"You sent her to the boys bathroom!" Lily said, looking even more flabbergasted than before. At least she wasn't mad.

"Yep," James said triumphantly. "Although she's on our tails already about it."

"There's no proof it was us," Sirius scoffed, waving James off.

"Don't you care a little bit that she knows it was you lot?" Lily said.

James and Sirius shared a glance. "Not with these kinds of pranks," James finally said, rubbing his temple.

"What kind of pranks?"

"The harmless kind," Sirius said. He instantly shoveled a forkful of food into his mouth.

"So you did used to care about the pranks that weren't harmless?" Lily pressed. "I mean, you felt guilty or something?"

Sirius shoveled another forkful of food into his mouth, glancing at James. James ran his fingers through his head, sensing an argument or one of Lily's trademark death glares.

"You have to remember we were young Lily," James said, trying to lessen the impact. He didn't regret much to do with his past, but there were some pranks – the pranks that generally went to far – that he shuddered to think about. A lot of their previous pranks managed to unfold with a huge spoonful of luck. "We did start feeling guilty about some of our pranks. Eventually."

Sirius nodded with a mouth full of egg.

"When?" Lily pressed.

"Uh," James mumbled. "Fifth year?"

"You don't sound so sure," Lily said.

"It shouldn't matter anymore," James said. It was hard to sound sure in himself when the parts of his past he was trying to stand up for was full of regret and stupidity. But they were still parts of his past, parts of him that he'd overcome. "It's stuff we used to do. I'm not saying that that stuff wasn't dumb and idiotic – it was – but we've stopped."

"I'm sorry," Lily said, her eyes on his. "I didn't mean to press. And I'm not angry about that stuff anymore. I guess I'm just –"

She stopped, her eyes downcast. James grabbed her hand – ignoring Sirius snort of laughter – and tilted her chin up.

"You're just what?"

"Nervous about the prank – I don't know," Lily admitted. "You know I've never been in detention."

"What!" James exclaimed. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Lily said.

"That's going on your bucket list."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"No, I meant what as in no way."

"That's not what what means," James said. "C'mon. Its just detention. You could just skip a class or something."

"No I refuse," Lily said. "Besides, I can't get in detention."

"Sure you can," James said.

"No I can't. I'm in a beat with Remus."

James blinked. "He's got a beat on you never getting a detention? Since when?"

"Just before Christmas break," Lily admitted. "You reckons that since we're now a thing, or whatever, I'm bound to end up in detention. You know, because you're you."

James frowned. He glanced up at Remus who was still chatting with Lucy and yelled, "Oi Remus!"

Remus glanced his way and scowled.

"Oh so now we're allowed to interrupt Remus," Sirius said, also scowling.

James scowled back. What an interesting morning this was.

 **LILY POV**

Lily marched to first period Transfiguration, fully aware that she hadn't completely finished McGonagall's assigned homework. She might just happen to end up in detention, ironically enough. She was walking by herself, which wasn't too unusual, but knowing that she was alone because she had no one else to walk with made her even more miserable. James was busy sorting some mishap with their prank, and Lily, unsure if she should involve herself, had opted on going to class instead.

The huge corridors felt suddenly much bigger. She made it to class earlier than she would've liked too. She took her seat and pulled out her essay. Her and Remus were meant to have done it together, but they simply hadn't. Annoying, but it is what it is. McGonagall strolled into her classroom, surprised to have a student seated already.

"Good Morning Miss Evans," McGonagall said.

"Good morning Professor," Lily returned. If some of her misery seeped into her words, McGonagall chose to ignore it.

"Due to some minor inconvenience I'm putting a temporary hold on the holiday homework," her Professor informed her. "Although, I'm positive you have already completed it."

"I," Lily started, then, upon finding no reason correct McGonagall, stopped and abruptly changed subject. "Why?"

McGonagall's face molded into one of disgust. "The Ministry has decided to intervene with our teachings." She must have noticed her expression, and the tone of her voice, since she quickly corrected herself. "I'm telling you this Miss Evans out of respect to your position."

Lily wasn't daft, she read between the lines quickly: the school wasn't supposed to know about the Ministry interference. For a second she wondered what Marlene would make of this all, but then remembered that they weren't talking. Alice arrived not long afterwards, throwing a quick glance at the empty seat beside Lily – which was usually occupied by Marlene – before slumping into her assigned seat. Unlike the other Professors, McGonagall's seating arrangement was compulsory, and quite unfortunately, Marlene was made to sit next to Lily. Marlene smiled nervously at Lily. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that Marlene was making an obvious effort to make peace, since it was her that had started it all, but Marlene was known to hold a grudge so her feeble attempt at a peace offering instantly made Lily suspicious. Then, of course, Lily wondered if she was over analyzing again. Merlin's beard, her mind was stressful.

The last people to arrive were the four Marauders, looking out of breath and very obviously up to no good. An already very suspicious McGonagall frowned at them.

"I'm sure you four are aware that lateness is not tolerated in this classroom?" McGonagall said sternly.

"Are we in trouble then?" Sirius asked. He looked dead serious.

"Have a guess?" McGonagall said, ushering them into her class and towards then separated seats.

"No?" Sirius offered.

"Have another guess?" McGonagall continued.

Her glare was ferocious, and Lily was shocked that Sirius was very clearly pushing his luck. She briefly wondered if maybe he thought by behaving out of hand, she might somehow think that he wasn't behind the prank. Before Sirius could respond, one of the Ravenclaw boys yelped, pushing back from his desk and staring at the empty seat beside him.

"She, she just vanished!" He said, startled.

Lily stifled a laugh at his astounded expression. She caught Marlene glancing at her curiously, and managed to pull her face into a more appropriate expression.

"I saw it too!" Alice piped up.

McGonagall's glare only grew stormier. "Mr. Black and Mr. Potter, would you step outside for a moment?"

"Why?" Sirius said, doe-eyed.

"Because you irritate me," she said. Most of the class turned to look at her, surprised by her remark.

She watched as James and Sirius made their way outside, feeling weirdly guilty. She'd been a part of the prank, but if she offered herself up now McGonagall would have no doubt who was behind the prank. Right now she was only operating under suspicions, and the boys past track records.

"Now they've done it," a Hufflepuff girl whispered to her friends.

"She might dock points," her friend replied as McGonagall stalked from the class. "Hufflepuff might end up over taking Gryffindor then!"

Lily groaned. Of course she knew where Gryffindor stood on the leader board – third – because she herself adjusted the rubies every week. Usually they relied on Quidditch matches to ensure they got the cup, but since their only match had been cancelled there was nothing to even out the Marauder's trouble making. As soon as the door closed behind McGonagall, the classroom erupted into laughter and hushed snickering. As Head Girl it was Lily's job to quiet them, but she just wasn't in the mood. On her right Marlene had her head on their desk, her eyes closed. Alice was chatting to Mary McDonald, her desk partner, while Remus was fiddling with his fingers, nervously glancing up to the door every few seconds.

It took twenty minutes for the boys, and a red faced McGonagall, to return. James and Sirius quietly took their seats, still grinning slightly as if they'd managed to avoid getting detentions. At least they didn't look smug, Lily sighed.

"Please, put away your textbooks," McGonagall said. Even though that usually meant they had a practical lesson, their Professor didn't ask them to pull out their wands. Lily grimaced, bracing herself for whatever the Ministry had told the teachers to teach. "Before we start, Dumbledore has informed me that the vanishing students have all appeared in his office, much to their amusement." She scowled at that, glaring at a mock-innocent James. "They will return soon. As for your textbooks you won't be needing them for today's lesson. Same with your homework, we'll return to the next lesson."

A few people smirked with glee, James included. Lily didn't smirk, but a tiny part of her was glad as well. That was until she noticed the look of pure, untouchable terror on her Professors face. Instinctively, she glanced at Marlene, their animosity briefly forgotten. What could've made their Professor so frightened?

"As most of you know the magical world has been in constant turmoil due to forces previously unknown to us," McGonagall started. Her voice didn't once teeter, or stumble, but her tone was unusually gentle. "As a well-protected school you have become mostly unaware of the extent of this turmoil."

That was when Lily remembered something James had whispered to Remus at the very beginning of the school year. She knew that James' father was a very successful auror, or rather had been a very successful one, before he retired. But hadn't James mentioned that he'd been sent back out into the field?

"The Ministry has found it fit to warn all of you of the man behind these attacks," McGonagall said. Her eyes were on James' as if he already knew something they didn't. But what could he possibly know of? Everyone knew it was Lord Voldemort who orchestrated each attack, despite all of the Ministry's attempts to divert this piece of information. "Lord Voldemort has indeed declared war on the wizarding world. He has raised a Muggle-hating army, and we – at the school – believe he is intent on ridding the world of Muggle-born blood."

Silence bloomed throughout the classroom. Their prank, which now riddled Lily with guilt, was forgotten. Everyone inside the entire school was made well aware of a group of students who bullied those with Muggle-born heritage, but that's all it was, bullying. Lord Voldemort was killing people just like her, and all because of something she had no control over. She felt Marlene's hand grip hers under the table. Lily gripped back, her heart thumping. A part of her knew that she was being irrational – she already knew all of this information, she was already aware of the bloodshed outside the castles walls – but the why her Professor was framing it made it sound worse. As if this was only the beginning.

 **JAMES POV**

James knew about the impending war. He knew there were attacks happening that the Ministry covered up and that his Dad refused to mention. He knew that Voldemort intended to kill every single Muggle-born and put the Muggle's into their "rightful" place. He knew more than most. And it still made him feel sick to the stomach.

He walked out of McGonagall's class feeling dejected and heavy-headed. He wanted to see if Lily was okay, but he wanted to sort out his thoughts first instead of rushing into a conversation hot-headed and pissed off.

"I think you're right," Remus said.

He'd come up behind James so silently that he'd nearly spun around and punched his friend in the mouth. Remus' eyes went large, slowly flickering down to James' bent fists.

"Is this about Lily?" Remus said. He ushered James into an empty classroom, just as conscious of James' temper as James was. He'd been around when it'd gone completely rogue.

"Yes." James rubbed his face. "And no. I mean, yes, of course, she's suddenly turned into his target. But it's not just about her. It's about everyone."

"She's safe inside this castle James," Remus reminded him.

James nodded sagely. His temper had diluted slightly, but James could feel it inside of him, dangerous and struggling to surface.

"The war isn't ending Remus," James said quietly. "It hasn't even properly begun. It'll be us fighting it. Those Slytherins, we'll be fighting them for real. Not just stupid pranks."

"I understand that," Remus said. He was frowning, trying to make sense of his friend.

"No you don't," James growled. "I don't even understand it. Not fully. My Father hides so much from me. But he's out in the field fighting right now. He's been retired for five years Remus."

Remus nodded tentatively already aware of this. "Are you saying that –?"

"That he'll probably die fighting in this war? That we might die in this war? Yes."

Both boys looked at each other, weighted with their own fears. It was suddenly too much. McGonagall had told them not to panic; that they were safe inside the castles walls but he wasn't stupid, and neither was Remus. Dumbledore wouldn't willingly inform the entire school of such bad news. What about those whose parents were now targets? What about those whose parents were out there fighting for their safety? What about those whose parents were fighting alongside Voldemort? He'd been forced to tell them everything, and someone was inside the castle's wall, reporting right back to the Ministry.

"We have to find Sirius," James said, suddenly.

Remus nodded, already pulling the Marauder's map from his pocket. James' checked the Astronomy tower first this time, but he wasn't there. Nor was he in the common room, the boys bathrooms or inside the Great Hall. James couldn't find him on the grounds either.

"Look," Remus said, pointing at a corridor on the first floor. "Where do you think he's headed?"

"The Slytherin common room," James said. "Where's Peter?"

"Muggle studies," Remus said. "Are we going after him?"

James frowned, conflicted, but he knew his answer regardless.

 **LILY POV**

The Gryffindor common room was unusually crowded for second period Monday. The sevenths years had Muggle Studies and Astronomy so she was hoping that James would make his way here after rushing out of Transfiguration. She was clearly wrong. And Sirius and Remus weren't here either. She wanted to scream in frustration.

"Are you okay Lily?" Alice said, moving towards her. Her expression was unusually pale.

"I'm fine," Lily snapped. "What's new? We already knew all that crap. Why bother getting all worked up over it."

If Lily's temper surprised Alice she didn't show it. Instead she ushered Lily up to her dorm, away from the prying eyes. "You have to talk to Marly," Alice insisted. "This grudge is already stupid."

"She has to apologize to me!" Lily said, flabbergasted. Had Alice believed her when she said she hadn't cared about all anything McGonagall had said?

"She's knows that," Alice said. "And she wants to."

"No," Lily whispered. She was positive Marlene was waiting for them in her dorm. "She absolutely destroyed Remus."

"You want to get over this just as much as she does," Alice said. "I know you do. And she didn't destroy Remus. You think he's that naïve to what everyone thinks? You think he's that weak. He's forgiven her already Lily."

Lily blinked. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Alice never got in between her and Marlene's fights.

"I need you two to be friends again," Alice whispered. Her eyes had gone wide and watery.

It was her friends' tears that finally cracked Lily's hard skin. This grudge, this hostility she had built up against Marlene was only going to be counter-productive from here onwards. They were on the same side, about time they started acting it.

"Okay," Lily said. "But I don't want her to apologize. I know she truly meant what she said. But I won't be mad with her anymore, I promise."

"Oh Lily," Alice said, shaking her head. "Maybe in the moment she meant it but –"

"I did mean it," Marlene said, the seventh year dormitory door slamming open. Alice nearly jumped in shock. Lily was too passive to register it. "But I don't believe Remus is like that. I never did."

That was all Lily wanted to hear. "Okay."

Marlene smiled softly.

 **JAMES POV**

James and Remus were out of breath by the time they reached Slytherin house. They found Sirius there, pacing back and forth, muttering angrily at the portrait. James knew he was trying to force his way in. 

"Padfoot," James said, stepping forward.

Sirius ignored him, but he flinched, acknowledging his presence. It was enough to tell James he could go on.

"It won't work," James said. "He's already made up his mind."

"Well the little shit is wrong," Sirius muttered angrily.

James held back from saying 'I know,' since he'd already said it a hundred times over. "No he isn't," James said.

Sirius stopped his pacing instantly. He heard Remus groan.

"You want me to give up, don't you?" Sirius hissed.

"No," James said. "Don't be daft."

Sirius scoffed. "I know what you're thinking. You think that Regulus believes that our side is the wrong side to be on, so for him to be on his side is right for him. Well that's wrong too then."

Before James could replied, the Slytherin portrait swung open and a seventh year – Amber Morgan – stepped outside, her expression neutral even when she spotted the three Gryffindor's. Sirius recklessly pulled out his wand and pointed it at her.

"What's the password," he growled.

"Sirius," Remus hissed through clenched teeth.

"Guess you finally heard the bad news," Amber mocked. "Decided you'd come here and try and get ride of some evil Slytherins."

"I just wanted to speak to my brother," Sirius snapped.

The portrait door swung open a second time and this time Mulciber and Snape stepped outside. They were now evenly numbered, which made James' heart pace. Snape had already used an unforgivable. Who knew what they'd use this time.

"You've got a nerve coming back here Potter," Snape said icily.

James found that despite his pacing heart, his subdued anger was still there. "Guess I came back to finish some unfinished business."

Sirius glanced his way, disbelief in his eyes. "It was you," he hissed. He aimed his wand at Snape. "You should be in Azkaban you piece of filth."

"But I'm not," Snape said savagely. "And I doubt I will be. Thanks to Potter. You, on the other hand, are you here to kill me?"

A second wand trained itself to Snape's chest. "Don't you dare threaten them," Remus growled. His tone was feral, his mouth trained into a grimace. "And don't you think I won't hex the lot of you."

"Ouch," Amber yelped gleefully. "I'm quivering."

James lifted his wand, joining his friends. It was the first time in two years that they would purposefully start the duel. Snape hadn't even drawn his wand yet.

"You wouldn't," Mulciber hissed. "You'll be expelled."

"You know," James said, grinning. "I don't think we will be. Unlike you lot, Dumbledore's on our side. Where's you pathetic master? Isn't he big and strong enough to get inside the castle? Pity."

"How dare you speak about the Dark Lord like that," Amber screamed. She pulled her wand from her cloak and trained it on James' chest.

"We shouldn't," Remus said, his hand shaking, but he hadn't lowered his wand yet.

"Oh we should," Sirius said. He glanced at his friend, his eyes cold. "We're not backing down now. Not ever."

"They're not worth it," Remus mumbled.

"Of course they're not," James said. "None of them are."

"What a touching moment," Amber scowled. "Pity Dumbledore isn't here to straighten you three up."

"Walk away Amber," Snape said, signing.

"Not today Snape," James said, and with that he fired the first hex.

All it took was three spells, each cast by one of the Gryffindor's, to cause each Slytherin to drop to the floor. James bound their wrists, and dumped them behind a tapestry. Remus watched, shaking. Sirius patted him on the back.

"We don't have a choice anymore," he said.

"We always have a choice," Remus said.

"Not this time," Sirius told him.


	21. The Sleepover Club

**JAMES POV**

"What were you thinking James?" Lily yelled at him, loud enough for the entire Gryffindor common room to hear. "I can't believe you. And after all the crap you sprouted yesterday about maturing and growing up, and then you have the nerve to go after the Slytherins."

James sunk into a sofa, ignoring the wide-eyed first years that were staring at him. It'd been an entire day since he attacked the Slytherins, and was walking Sirius and Remus back to their common room after their detention when Lily had rounded on them, furious at James for skipping their patrol. And for "forgetting" to mention his "encounter"

"And then forgetting to tell me about Benjy!" Lily continued, her temper livid. "When he didn't show up for patrols his partner spent most of the night trying to find me. Nothing happened, thank Merlin, but something could've."

James felt miserable. He hadn't lost his temper like that since fifth year.

"And then you forgot completely about Quidditch training?" Lily said, incredulously. "If these responsibilities are too much of a burden for you why didn't you just say something?" Her voice was soft and mocking at the same time, some sympathy for James clearly struggling to surface amongst all her anger and frustration.

"Lily," Marlene said, coming towards them. "Maybe not right here." She gestured at the first years watching then.

"I'm sorry," James started.

"You better bloody be," Lily countered.

"Okay, okay," Marlene intervened, more forcefully. "I think we should head to bed."

Lily looked like she was about to start yelling again, but after a while she signed, reluctantly sagging into the space near James, not as close as she normally would've but still close enough. Relieved, Marlene leaped into an armchair. James wondered when they'd forgiven each other.

"I don't mean to nag," Lily whispered. Her eyes were sincere, wide with nervousness. "I just, don't you think there are more important things to worry about than the Slytherins."

"Not really," James said bluntly.

Lily blinked and Marlene frowned.

"Well obviously once we leave the school we shouldn't worry about Slytherins but since we can't do anything about the outside attacks, shouldn't we focus on the inside attacks?" James told the girls. He looked sincere about it too, his face an unusual mix between anger and seriousness. "I mean, those Slytherins are going to be on the opposite side of the war once we leave."

"I guess," Marlene said, rubbing her forehead.

"Probably might even end up killing a couple of us," James said, the words dark but his voice blank.

Lily shuddered. James looked over at her, his expression softening, but he didn't make an effort to outwardly comfort her. She could handle the words, of all the people he knew, Lily could handle more than most.

 **LILY POV**

Around midnight, they made their way back to their rooms, walking mostly in silence. James looked completely unsettled, his raven hair charged with electricity. She knew that he was still berating himself about last night, his body almost twitching in discomfort, but she didn't know what to say. What if he was right? What if the Slytherins – her classmates – ended up on the opposite side of the war to her? She'd never even considered the possibility that she might have to fight someone she knew – the impending war had just seemed like a faceless enemy.

Lily reached out and grabbed James' hand. He flinched at her touch, which made Lily feel even more guilty, like he was surprised to see her there.

"What are you thinking?" She asked.

"Right now?" James said, swallowing.

"Yeah," Lily encouraged.

James glanced over his shoulder at the empty corridor behind them. "Why do you want to know?" He said tensely.

Lily signed. She didn't want to start another fight; especially after she'd just screamed at James all the things he'd done wrong in the past twenty-four hours, but she wanted to be able to comfort him, she wanted him to trust her enough to confide in her. James looked down at her, a frown forming between his eyebrows. He chewed his lip. Lily would describe him right now as skittish.

"Because," she started.

"My dad," James interrupted.

"Your dad?" Lily repeated.

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"He's probably fighting right now," James mumbled.

"If he's anything like you he's probably driving Voldemort insane," Lily said without thinking. She gasped, jerking her hand from James. How could she just blurt something so insensitive like that?

To her surprise he snorted. Then, as if the idea was becoming funnier, he started laughing, reaching out to grab her hand again. Lily curled her fingers into his with a smile.

"Thanks Evans," James said.

"Yeah, yeah –"

But James had grabbed her around the waist, swinging her to his side so they were pressed seamlessly together. In one breathless moment he had his lips against her, rough and full of frenzied energy. Lily kissed him back just as carelessly, roaming her hands up his back and into his hair, grabbing onto the locks to pull him closer. He groaned against her lips, a sound that sent Lily mad. She needed him closer – his hands slipped under her shirt and pressed flat against her bare back. She shuddered at the fluttery cold, grazing her teeth against his bottom lip.

James pulled back just far enough so that she could see his eyes, their noses almost touching. He was looking at her with his beautiful hazel eyes, hidden behind wire-rimmed glasses, but the gaze was so much more: there was a hungry desire lurking further behind.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, then, deciding against it, he smiled. Lily rolled her eyes, lightly shoving him away.

"C'mon," she grumbled, slipping her hand into his. "Bed time."

James yawned stupidly. "Okay."

She didn't realise what she instigated until they'd started walking, but by then it was too late to laugh or tease or anything. She still had that fragile feeling in her chest, and James still looked just as hungry for her. It made her shudder, the expression, knowing that she alone had put it there.

They climbed through the portrait hole and into their common room. She glanced at James, expecting him to feel just as awkward as she did – maybe chewing his fingernails and staring at the floor – but he was still staring at her, a hesitant, yet endearing grin on his face. Oh Merlin, she thought.

Surely he didn't expect them to – not tonight – oh Merlin.

As if he'd sensed her thoughts, James grabbed her hand and pulled her towards his bedroom. She felt a wild urge to slap him away, but the same wild urge was telling her to grab him by the waist and haul him away to her room.

"Uh James," she said uncertainly when they reached his door.

"Trust me," James said. "I – I just want to see you in the morning."

"Of course you'll see me in the morning," Lily said, once again without thought.

James rolled his eyes, kicking open his door. "I thought I'd try and down play my cheesy pick up lines, you know, for your sanity's sake."

"Oh," Lily said, somewhat distracted by James' room.

It was cleaner than she'd expected, his clothes sprawled over a chair rather than the floor. His broom was propped up in the corner, and there was another pair of glasses on his bedside table, resting atop a stack of textbooks. His trunk was open at the foot of his bed, empty but for a ratty looking cloak, a half eaten block of chocolate and an empty piece of parchment.

"Not bad Potter," Lily said, smirking.

James nudged a stray sock with his foot, shrugging. "Yeah right," he said. "What's your room like? Alphabetized books? Colour coordinated shirts? Folded underwear?"

The thought of James thinking about her underwear made her blush unexpectedly. "Shove off," she grumbled.

"Take your shoes off."

"What?"

"Take your shoes off Evans."

"What for?"

"You're not putting your dirty shoes on my bed."

"I'm not – we're not – Potter!"

"Clean your brain Evans. C'mon, just do it."

Lily reluctantly removed her shoes, watching James from the corner of her eye as he did the same. She tucked them away in the corner. James shrugged out of his coat, school shirt and trousers till he was just standing there in his boxers, looking, for all the world's sense, completely shameless. All Lily could do was gape, not at him physically (okay maybe a little), but at what he was doing. Why in Merlin's name was he undressing?

"What are you doing?"

"Putting on my pjs."

"Well what about me?"

"Oh right." James shuffled around in one of his drawers, pulling out his Quidditch jersey. He threw it at her. "Here."

"Oh yeah right I'm wearing this."

"Suit yourself," he said with a shrug.

Thoroughly confused, Lily accio-ed her own pjs as James slide into a pair of flannel bottoms a few sizes too small for him. He glanced at his bare ankles as if surprised to see them. He glanced up at her, grinning.

"Fourth pair that Mum's shrunk," he commented.

Lily grunted. "Do your own washing."

Grinning from ear to ear, although Lily didn't understand what he had to grin about, he moved across to his bed, pulling back to covers. He kept his back to her, letting Lily change into her own matching flannel pj set. Once done he jumped into bed, patting the empty space beside him.

"Get in Evans."

"Okay," she said hesitantly. It's not that she didn't trust James, it was that she didn't trust herself to not jump at him and – oh Merlin.

She slid into the space beside him, leaving a sliver of cold air between them. James rolled over to face her, his face impossibly close. Lily moved onto her side her eyes roaming his face. He had freckles, she noticed with a jerk. A scattering of them over his nose. She had a strange urge to reach over a touch one. Pinning her arms by her side she asked, "what are you thinking now?"

James bit his lip.

"And nothing cheesy."

He grinned. "Remus actually."

Lily blinked. "You're thinking about Remus, while you're in bed, with me, your girlfriend."

"I'm thinking about how Remus will react if I tell you something," James murmured.

"Oh," Lily signed. "Well how about you ask him in the morning."

He seemed distracted. And even though she was inches away from him, close enough that she could feel his fluttery breath across her face, he seemed an impossible arm's length from her. She felt relieved that he wasn't pushing her or trying to force her into doing something she wasn't ready for (because surely she wasn't ready for that?) but then again, shouldn't he being thinking exactly that? Since she was here, in his bed, for the first time in their lives.

"I suppose," he said shrewdly.

"I already know he's a werewolf," Lily said.

James signed. "That helps."

"So this something you want to tell me is in the same general genre as that?" Lily moved her weight forward, unplugging her pins-and-needles arm out from under her side. "Are you a werewolf too? Do you go on werewolf prowls at night?"

James winced, and Lily's eyes went wide. Wait – what?

"NO," he said firmly. "It's not that – it's just, wow. I've never actually told someone this. I don't know what to expect from you. You might be mad. Or shocked. Or, fingers crossed, impressed. But, from past experiences, probably mad."

"Okay well now I'm intrigued," Lily said. "If you tell me I promise not to get mad. Unless you're breaking some rule or something worse."

James flinched.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Worse than a school rule?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Well bad enough to put you in Azkaban?"

James had gone pale. It was obvious that this wasn't the way he'd hoped the conversation would go. "Possibly," he whispered. "The laws vary depending on the – well I guess on the seriousness of the offense. But, I personally think, and Padfoot and Pete think the same, that we wouldn't be sent to Azkaban."

Lily groaned. "Sirius and Peter are involved too?"

"Oh. Crap." James rolled over onto his back and glared at the ceiling.

"But not Remus?"

"No."

"Because he's a werewolf?"

"Did you work it out?" James whispered.

"No," Lily said, hearing the word louder and harsher than she'd wanted. Because isn't this what she wanted? For James to confine in her and tell her his secrets. "I got lost somewhere between Remus being a werewolf, you breaking a serious law, Sirius and Peter being also involved and how Remus' condition could possibly justify breaking the law."

"I'm an Animagus."

James spoke so fast and slowly that Lily wasn't sure she'd heard him correct. She blinked, sitting up right. James followed, more slowly, folding his hands into his lap.

"I can change into a stag and Sirius can change into a dog and Pete's a rat," he admitted. "And we keep Remus company when he's, well you know."

"Jesus."

James glanced at the roof.

"No way."

He glanced down at the floor.

"Okay. Wow."

He glanced at Lily's hands, bunched into loose fists.

"Okay that's not too bad."

He finally glanced up at her, his eyes wide and uncertain. She desperately wanted to pull him into her arms and hug him, anything to remove that freaking look of vulnerability on his face but she wasn't exactly sure how she felt about it.

"For how long?"

"Well Peter suggested it second year," James said. "He kinda turned against Remus –"

"I know," Lily said softly, because apparently even talking about someone hating Remus because of his condition pained James. "He told me."

"Peter told you?"

"No Remus did. Not that long ago."

"Okay," James said slowly. "Right. But it took us an entire year to find the right books then two years to perfect it."

"So fifth year?"

"Yeah."

"You're right about me being angry. And shocked." Lily grabbed his hand, skimming her thumb over his knuckles. "And impressed. But James it's so risky."

James shrugged. "It helps him, you know?" He ran his other hand through his hair, squinting. "He's more human." The words struggled to flow, as if James hadn't given this much thought till late. "And he hurts himself less."

Lily suddenly sprung upwards, her eyes wide. James blinked in surprise as there hands fell apart.

"That night when I was doing patrols," she whispered. "And you we're almost unconscious. It was a full moon – I know because I have them recorded for Remus."

"We were stupid that night," James mumbled. "We thought we could control him but we got to close to the school."

"You're joking?" Lily said. And that's when she realized how angry she was, no how furious she was. Maybe James could justify breaking the law to help his friend, and maybe even Lily could accept that, but then turning the Full Moon into some kind of game of chicken? "You take him out of the shrieking shack? Even though you, of all people, know how dangerous that could be. What if someone was out late? What if," she lowered her voice, completely white with fury, "he bit someone?"

James had the decency to look embarrassed. He should be, Lily thought. She unfolded her legs and slide off of James bed.

"Where are you going?" James said, his voice small.

"To my room," Lily muttered.

"Please."

"Is it worth it?" Lily said.

"What?"

"Is putting lives in danger worth the fun you're apparently having?"

James blinked.

"I thought so."

Lily marched towards the door, expecting James to stay put, instead he lept after her, grabbing her wrist and pulling her around. Lily barely protested, still unable to comprehend this secret and that she was walking away! Are you crazy, part of Lily screamed. He'd confided in her, the first person he'd told, and she was simply walking away.

"We all know that what we're doing is dangerous," James said. "I'm not denying that. But we don't think of it like that. I mean, we don't go rogue every full moon, intent on wreaking havoc or whatever."

"I know that James –"

"Hear me out, please," James whispered. He pulled her back into his room, tugging her towards his bed as she complied.

"Okay," Lily reluctantly offered, perching herself on the end of his bed.

"We do it because we want to help our friend," James said. "When he's by himself he spends hours scratching and biting and trying to gnaw his own paw off. And then he has to spend a few days with Pomfrey to recover. And then he misses classes and homework and eating with everyone and just being one of us. When the four of us lock our selves in with him he goes rogue on us. But outside, I dunno, he becomes more playful and he actually seems to be friends with us."

"He is your friend," Lily feels the urge to point out.

"I'm talking about Moony."

"But Moony is Remus, right?"

James shakes his head. "Remus doesn't remember anything the next morning. Moony has a mind of his own, does what he wants – if Remus could control him he wouldn't try and attack himself, right."

"Okay."

"So," James mumbles.

"What you four are doing is crazy James."

"I know but –"

"I can't believe you're a stag," Lily whispered.

"Huh?"

Lily blinked, shocking even herself. But at the goofy grin on James' face she knew she'd made the right decision, as crazy as that decision was. "I'm not going to judge, okay?" She whispered. "If you think what you're doing is worth everything than I believe you."

James' eyes went wide. He reached for her and pulled Lily into his long arms, pulling her head down onto the pillow. She reached out and pressed a palm to his bare chest, feeling his heart beat flutter.

"You're incredible," he murmured.

"Do you have antlers?"

"Mmhmm," James mumbled into her hair.

She smiled at the tickly sensation. "Can I see it?"

James stiffened, not in anger or anything, but surprise, pleasantly amazed that Lily wanted to see that part of his life. "Now?"

"Not right now," she said. "Maybe another night?"

"Okay," he said. "Yeah, of course."

They fell asleep wrapped up in each other, the world around them forgotten.


	22. Lily and James make the headlines

**JAMES POV**

James was still in shock that Lily had slept the night in his bed, so much that the sausage he'd stabbed onto the end of his fork slide off onto his plate, forgotten in his sudden daze. Sirius prodded him in the shoulder, sniggering.

"Did you and Lily finally do it?" He asked.

James blinked, and just like that, Sirius had ruined the moment again. "What? No," James snapped. "Merlin, shut up."

Sirius snorted. "Marly said you two went back to the dorms together."

"Of course we did, you idiot," James said. "That's where we sleep. And besides, when did you start talking to Marly again?"

"Or maybe it wasn't Marly," Sirius said, frowning. "I dunno, someone said that Marly saw you two leaving the Gryffindor common room at midnight holding hands."

"What the heck," James grumbled. "How many people has she told?"

Before Sirius could answer, Jack Robin - a Gryffindor beater – slapped James on the shoulder, a Cheshire cat grin on his face. "Knew you'd wear her down," he said, still smirking.

James was so shocked he barely had time to register Jack's words, and when his brain finally caught up, the boy was halfway down the Great Hall. He almost couldn't believe what he was hearing, Sirius was one thing, but a fifth year? How far had word gone? Oh great, James thought, suddenly realizing the magnitude that was the Hogwarts gossip chain. What on earth where they saying about him and Lily?

"Great," James grumbled. He turned to his friend, scowling. "What exactly are they saying?"

Sirius shrugged. "Last I heard you and Lily finally had sex."

"Yeah but like how?"

At that Sirius frowned. "I dunno man. Probably the missionary or something. She isn't exactly a harlot."

James whacked him – hard – across the shoulder. "Not like that dickhead." And then he whacked him again – this time harder. "And don't call her that again."

"Oww," Sirius complained, rubbing the spot that James had punched him. "Like what then?"

James groaned. The last rumor about James' sex life had been half way through sixth year and it had involved Jess Burke (A Gryffindor seventh year at the time), the prefect's bath and maple syrup. James was quick to squash that one. But all the ones before that, well James had mostly encouraged them. Even though they all weren't true. Now he just felt like a complete idiot.

"Has Lily heard it yet?"

"Probably," Sirius said. "If Marly started it."

"Great."

"So it's not true then?"

"No!"

"But you did sleep in the same bed as her?"

James frowned. "How do you figure that one out?"

Sirius shrugged. "Educated guess."

"Prat."

Sirius grinned. "Well here she comes now." James spun around in his seat to see Lily entering the Great Hall, followed by Alice and Marlene. "Good luck." With that, Sirius grabbed a piece of toast and swung up and off of his seat, waving at the girls as he passed them.

The girls sat around James, Alice smiling and Marlene looking like she was struggling to contain a laugh.

"Uh hey," James said, feeling off kilter.

""How's your morning been James?" Lily asked.

"Uh normal."

Lily looked to Alice as if that sorted things. Alice shrugged and glanced at Marlene, who was now biting her lip, her hands shoved under her thighs.

"Heard the news yet?" Lily said.

James glanced around the Hall nervously, wondering if she was referring to their rumor or something that had more to do with McGonagall's speech yesterday.

"Uh maybe?"

"Apparently we had sex."

James nearly choked on his eggs. Lily was watching him with a completely blank face, her eyes rounded with sincerity. There was something off about the look though, as if James had seen a similar look hundreds of times before and now someone had gone in with a paintbrush and added an extra dimple or something. Hang on; there is a dimple, he thought. Is she smirking? He glanced at Alice and Marlene who were also watching him rather intently, but as if they were on the prowl for gossip.

Huh, he thought, if Lily was playing him he could play her right back.

"Well if that's in the paper then it must be true," James shot back, looking just as blank.

Lily's smirk spread a little further, barely noticeable. Marlene's expression dropped, her mouth gaping in shock. Alice looked just as surprised.

"Yes I'm rather happy that our sex life has made front page," Lily continued smoothly.

James held back a snort.

"I only had a chance to skim the article," he said, stifling a smirk as Lily's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Did they mention that we did it out by the lake?"

"Shut up," Marlene yelled.

Alice however was frowning. "You're taking the piss, aren't you?"

"No way," Marlene said. "This is golden."

"Yeah, sorry Marls," Lily said, smirking as she grabbed a piece of toast. "All lies, as per usual."

"Damn," Marlene grumbled.

"What have you got first Lils," Alice said, stifling a laugh.

"Uh – potions," she replied. "Then Trans – oh crap. Great."

"What?" James said, frowning.

"Remus and I didn't finish the Transfiguration homework," Lily grumbled. "You know, that stupid assignment McGonagall set us."

"Oh I did it!" Marlene said brightly. "Mum told me."

"Wanna tell us?" James pressed, knowing damn well Sirius probably hadn't touched it either.

"Yeah it's pipius aquinias or something," Marlene said. "Here," she paused to pull her wand from her robe pocket and pointed it at her bowel of cereal. "It's like this weird Q pattern but the tail has like a weird zig at the end. Then, Pipius Aquinias. Ta dum! Unlimited cereal."

"Did you ask what the two words mean?" Lily said.

Marlene blinked, and James snorted. Lily shot him a condescending look.

"Well in Runes Pipius means infinity," Alice said. "Well, that's a very simplified version of the meaning. There are debates about whether it means –"

"There we go," Lily said, interrupting her friend. "So it's a runic spell."

"Is there another kind?" James said

"Yes," Lily signed, dropping her head onto James shoulder dramatically. "Keep up little boy."

James grunts. "Excuse me," he mocks growled. "But I distinctly remember you last night fainting at the sight of –"

"JAMES!" Lily shrieked.

"What? No way! I thought you said –"

"Sarcasm Marlene," Alice snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Oh I hate you Potter," Marlene grumbled.

"My pleasure Marls."

 **LILY POV**

Slughorn is ten minutes late. The first five minutes everyone had just sat at their desks chatting and laughing. At six minutes Sirius had gotten up and left, and hadn't returned yet. At eight minutes James had appointed himself the Professor and was now in the middle of a long ramble on the importance of plucking your broomstick daily.

"You don't think he actually prunes his broom daily, right?" Alice muttered beside her.

Lily had yet to see James even clean his broom. "No of course not," she muttered back. It was her tone that indicated she didn't care whether James plucked his broom every second of everyday or if he only used his broom to sweep the floor. "Where do you think Slughorn is?"

"I dunno? Maybe he got –"

"Please pay attention Miss Prewitt," James called from behind Slughorn's desk.

Alice giggled.

"Maybe put her in detention?" Lily called out jokingly. Or what she hoped was jokingly, because suddenly Alice had stopped laughing and James was glancing at her with a peculiar expression on his face.

"Okay class, pipe down," James said, not taking his eyes off Lily. Much to Lily's surprise they listened, some of the more rowdy boys dropping down into their seats.

"What are we supposed to do then?" A Hufflepuff boy complained.

"I dunno mate," James said waving him off. "Use your brain."

He wandered towards Lily and Alice, waving Remus and Peter over. The boys crowded around Lily's desk, Remus rubbing a frown from his face. Lily noticed that the bags under his eyes looked darker than usual. Marlene had also pulled a chair over, shoving herself between James and Alice. She smiled a smile at Lily that didn't quite meet her eyes, but Lily wasn't sure if it was still a lingering after-effect of their turbulent relationship of late or if she was having the same, sinister, sinking feeling that something was wrong.

"And the secret meeting commences," James joked, knocking his fist against the table as if he were a judge opening the court for discussion.

Lily couldn't help but roll her eyes; despite the affronted look Alice gave her boyfriend. James had two kinds of sarcasm she'd come to realise: one that was meant for jokes and teasing, and another that he used to deflect emotions that were hard to approach. Like fear. Or anger. She wasn't sure which one applied to her at this moment.

"If this is a secret group we should probably have a cooler name," Peter said.

"Like Potter's–"

"Pranksters?" Peter filled in, causing Remus to snort and James to look slightly abashed.

"I've mature since then," James said, before Remus could inject something equally as embarrassing.

"Well it's not the worst I've heard," Alice commented. "At least at the same caliber as 'The Marauders'."

"That title was self-dubbed by McGonagall herself," James said. "And what a fine moment that was."

"Didn't it involve tears?" Marlene said.

"Okay, okay," James said loudly, causing half the classroom to glance his way – not judgmentally, since he had told them to shut up beforehand, but curiously, as if he might say something to all of them – and Lily to glare at him. "None of memory lane right now, as fascinating as that might be brussel sprout face."

Marlene stuck her tongue out, but before anyone could question it, she quickly interjected, "does secret meeting number whatever have a purpose?"

"Didn't Lily call us over?" Peter said.

Lily rolled her eyes. "No," she told them. "James called this meeting to action."

"I thought you had something to say," James said.

Everyone turned to her expectantly, Remus smiling encouragingly, Alice frowning, Marlene with her hands shoved under her jittering legs, Peter looking slightly confused and James looking like he might've maybe said the wrong thing.

"James and I didn't have sex," Lily told them gravely.

No one said anything.

"I thought I better shut down that rumor."

"Okay," Remus offered slowly. "Thank you?"

"No worries."

"Maybe Slughorn died."

James groaned. "I think someone would've informed us of that Peter."

"Well they haven't told us where he is and class is almost over in case you haven't noticed," Peter said defensively.

"It's been like twenty minutes," Marlene said.

"Seriously?" Peter groaned. "James your lecture was a downright bore."

Lily snorted. Peter looked both surprised that he'd made her laugh and bashfully pleased. James flicked him over the head.

"Don't ogle my girlfriend."

"Yeah don't ogle James' girlfriend," Marlene quipped, grinning.

"Don't even breathe at James' girlfriend," Alice said, also biting back a laugh.

"Girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend," Remus hummed.

"Do you hate them?" James said, looking at Lily. "Because I hate them."

Lily smiled. "Tell me about it boyfriend."

 **JAMES POV**

James didn't want to press Lily for answers but he also knew, from past experiences, that sometimes it was better to simply have out with it, while it was just the two of them – alone. He gaze seemed stony as she sunk into a dark red armchair, her pale fingers shoved under her bent knees. After there teacher-less potions class, the confused seventh years had spilled out into the bustling corridor, James keeping his ears sharp for any whispers or rumors. Standing in the middle of a Hogwarts corridor between classes was the best way to gather in what was the daily gossip chain.

"McGonagall didn't even show up to our class." That was from a confused looking third year boy.

A fifth year girl smiled energetically at him. "Hi James."

"Oh come on Merry," her friend complained, grabbing her cloak and tugging her away.

The crowd bustled and pulsed. People pushed and laughed and chatted, but nobody seemed overly worried or frightened or even confused. It had just seemed like an average day.

James sat down on the sofa, plucking at a loose thread.

"We shouldn't be skipping class," Lily said reluctantly.

"McGonagall isn't there," James pointed out – it was true, even though he'd heard the third year proclaiming her disappearance in the corridor he'd still checked her classroom just in case, and she wasn't there, nor was their evidence of her being their at all that morning. The chalkboard was magiked clean and her desk was bare.

"Well we shouldn't be hiding away in here," Lily said indignantly.

That was when James realized just how angry Lily was. It wasn't her just being simply mad that their teacher might've skived class and she didn't get to learn a giggling potion or some nonsense – she was mad at something much, much bigger.

"When did you forgive Marly?" James asked.

"What?" Lily said, looking genuinely surprised.

"Well you're friends again, aren't you?" James pressed.

"I guess," Lily offered. She rubbed her forehead, not glancing at James. "I'm not angry at her anymore, if that's what you mean."

"Yeah but why did you forgive her?"

"Do I have to have a reason?"

"No –"

"It was pointless, okay? Holding a grudge when Remus was already over it," Lily said. "He doesn't seem to care about it anymore, does he? And, well they were never exactly chummy, but they're friends again."

James blinked. It wasn't exactly an outburst, just a stream of consciousness. "Well c'mon then," James said, getting up and offering Lily his hand.

"Where are we going," Lily questioned, letting James pull her to her feet.

"Dumbledore's office."

 **LILY POV**

Lily often prided herself upon her ability to be able to understand how someone was feeling just by glancing at their expression, but as the two of them made their way towards Dumbledore's office, skirting around lingering, confused students, she couldn't – for the life of her – work out James' expression. He was unreadable; his face scrubbed raw of emotion, as if he'd purposefully plastered a blank mask over his face. The few students that they did pass eyed them nervously, mumbling as they passed. Lily noticed a couple of first years loitering by the charms classroom, their textbooks clutched under their arms. She saw James eyeing them too, his expression flickering.

As they turned down Dumbledore's corridor, Lily heard voices. Someone was talking, and rather heatedly, the sound of her voice growing stronger. Lily watched in surprise as McGonagall flounced out of Dumbledore's office, the Headmaster hot on her heels. His expression was carefully composed, but McGonagall looked ready to explode. There was a fiery heat in her face that Lily had never seen before.

"-deserve to know," she was saying, her hands flapping wildly. "It involves them, just as much as it involves us Albus."

"I am aware Minerva," Dumbledore said. Neither of them had seemed to notice Lily and James, both who had paused in their tracks. He casted his eyes downward. "But for know –" He paused, and looked up, his stern gaze set on Lily's.

Lily jumped in surprise. She felt her cheeks growing hot in shame for being caught. James, however, took it in stride, marching towards the two professors, his posture rigid. Lily followed after him, intrinsicantly pleased to have James in front of her.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Evans," Dumbledore said. If he was surprised to see the two of them, he didn't show it. His expression, however, had changed, the usual twinkle in his eyes returning to some degree.

"Sorry to intrude Professor," James said. His tone, just like his expression, was guarded.

"No need to apologize," Dumbledore said, smiling.

Something about Dumbledore's smile seemed to comfort James, some of the tension from his shoulders slipping. He returned his professors smile warmly.

"I figured I would hear from the both of you soon," he continued. "I assume you grew concerned after Professor Slughorn failed to show to class? Then, after you learnt that Professor McGonagall was also absent, your concern became something much more frightening. Well, then it is I who should be apologizing. Your Professors are both fine, and taken care of. I apologize for your concern, the both of you."

Lily blinked. She hadn't been expecting an apology. If she was being honest with herself, she was expecting something much more grave, that the fact that their Headmaster apologizing to them felt quite minor.

"Is everything all right?" James said.

McGonagall eyed James skeptically, as if unsure of his intentions. Dumbledore simply smiled. "Everything is quite all right." At that McGonagall frowned, a barely noticeable gesture, but Lily had been watching her, wondering what she had been arguing about previously. "We have been having some minor security issues of late, nothing that our staff cannot handle but for today it required some of your Professors to re-instate some of our more trickier magical barriers."

Dumbledore's tone seemed so calm and smooth that he could've been talking about this morning's breakfast. It lulled Lily, however, made her less concerned. She wondered if maybe she'd been over exaggerating before. James flinched, his hands coming together before him into a single fist. For a second it looked as if he was going to say something, his mouth twitching, but then he decided against it, opting to just nod solemnly. An eerie silence loomed between them, Dumbledore's gaze lost somewhere between James' head and the ceiling. McGonagall stepped forward, ushering James and Lily away from the Head office.

"If you two will come with me," she said, returning one last glace at Dumbledore before marching off.

Once they were out of earshot, James unclenched his fists, his temper simmering. "Someone was trying to breach the barriers?" He said, aghast.

Lily gasped. Dumbledore had made it seem so insignificant, so common, but the way James' was wording it made it seem like a much graver issue.

"It is not my place to discuss such matters with you Mr. Potter," McGonagall said.

"But –"

"No Mr. Potter. You may be Head Boy but you are far to young to be troubling yourself with such matters." McGonagall was looking at James almost fondly, her round eyes behind her spectacles soft and sad.

"I want to be troubled with them," James insisted. "This is my war just as much as it is yours."

Lily tensed. James often talked back to teachers, but he was usually joking or acting up, never was he arguing with them about such serious matters.

"James," Lily started. "Maybe –"

James cut her off, "are we under threat?"

"James!" Lily jolted in her shock. Part of her wanted answers, part of her wanted to know what was going on, but another part of her – the timid school girl – was repelled by the idea of fighting with a teacher, as stupid as it seemed.

James ignored her. "Professor, are we under attack? Is that were Slughorn and Flitwick are?"

"Professor Slughorn and Professor Flitwick, Potter," McGonagall scolded. "And no, we are not under attack, nor is there an imminent threat. And you would do well to listen to Miss Evans."

"Imminent threat," James repeated, dumb folded. "So there was a threat? A remote threat?"

McGonagall sighed. It was a fed up sigh, more a distant, saddened sigh. She removed her spectacles and pressed the back of her hand against her forehead, exhausted. James seemed to notice it, his temper faded.

"Sorry Professor," James said. "It's just –"

"I understand Potter," McGonagall said. "And I'm sorry that I'm not at liberty to discuss this with you. Had I had my way, well never mind, minds have been decided. If the matter concerns you immediately, you will be informed…"

McGonagall paused, her expression jumping from exhaustion to shock to regret in seconds. Lily blinked, confused, then she noticed James' expression. He looked petrified, his face pale, as if he'd seen a ghost. McGonagall slide her spectacles onto the bridge of her nose, subtly composing herself.

"I'm sorry Potter," she offered, before walking away.

Lily tucked her hand into James', curling her fingers in between his. He tightened his hand, pulling Lily close till his nose was nearly pressed against her forehead. He signed.

"That was a look to take in," he finally said.

"Who do you think would want to break into Hogwarts," Lily whispered, taking the cowards option and deciding to tackle the easier topic to approach. She still wasn't sure how to comfort James about what McGonagall had almost told him – that his family's life was possibly, and judging by her expression, most likely at risk.

"Voldemort," James said.

His tone was empty.

"That bastard."

Lily snorted in surprise. It wasn't funny, not in the least, but the way James had said it – with such seriousness and in such a colorless way – made it seem more funny than if he'd tried to make a joke out of it. He smiled, brushing a finger across her cheek.

"I'm glad you're laughing," he said.

"Why?" She whispered.

"Because I don't want you feeling sorry for me," he said. "And I don't want you to worry about Voldemort, either."

"But I do," she said.

"For which one?"

"Both," she whispered. She could barely hear herself, but James flinched, as if the idea pained him terribly.

"I wish you didn't."

"I know," Lily told him, placing her hand against his face, softly pressing her fingers into the warmth. "Just as I wish you would stop thinking about ways you can fix everything."

James leant forward and planted a kiss on her forehead. Lily signed, falling completely against his chest. She hadn't realized how much she needed to be held until just now.


End file.
